


Der Preis der Freiheit

by MasshironaKitsune



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Cause I always saw Hanji as she, Family, Funky chapter lenght, Funky updates, Hanji is F, Heavily Based on Rogue by RedCoaster GO READ IT, I will use she, I'm not afraid to write gore!, Mikasa is kinda OOC, No pairings - Freeform, No shifters, REDCOASTER JUST GAVE ME A KUDO HOLY SHOOT I AM SO FRIGING HAPPY, Sorry for lame German, Titan Biology, Titan!Eren, alternative universe, at least not yet, be warned, it isnt the focus, rogue - Freeform, see it as u prefer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27318643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasshironaKitsune/pseuds/MasshironaKitsune
Summary: “Fuck!” Grisha loudly cursed while Mikasa was seeing it all with an ever-growing ghostly face, fearing that she might lose the last single strand of hope the boy had given her.Gathering a small amount of a dull-looking liquid in a syringe he fastly, and professionally, found a small blue vein and applied the compound to his son’s arm, taking care to not touch anything with his left hand...
Relationships: Carla Yeager/Grisha Yeager, Moblit Berner/Hange Zoë
Comments: 24
Kudos: 108





	1. Schöne grausame Welt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedCoaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedCoaster/gifts).



> So, I really -- Really, loved RedCoaster Rogue fic as it was cute and precious and AAAA EVERYTHING! And it inspired me into writing this precious gem right here, so, if you haven't read it yet, GO FOR IT, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!
> 
> I sincerely have no idea how long this fic gonna take, just that it'll be a loooong one, and I really mean it as I pretend to, more or less, follow the SNK story arcs and everything to the very end as well as to adapt them all to my fic and what happened in it. And I'll be honest with you guys, I've never read the manga and only have seen the anime, but upon writing this fic I needed some information and ended up getting some major spoilers while doing so ;-;  
> Oh well, that's life for ya!  
> But please refrain from telling me anything as I'm waiting for the last season to air before properly reading the manga!
> 
> And my update schedule will be very funky because I've been having a lot of writer's block recently, I do have what'll happen in the following chapter's until the fem arc but I don't know when I'll try to write them, so, I may post chapters weekly to just stop for months to go back to it as this has happened before...  
> And English is not my mother language so I'm sorry for any major mistakes in advance, if you see something be nice and tell me would you? Thanks!
> 
> To top it all off I really appreciate that you took your time to read until here! I am very grateful and I hope you have a wonderful day -- or a wonderful rest of day whenever you are. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**\--- Chapter one: Beautiful Cruel World ---**

* * *

Hooves were rhythmically hitting the brownish mixture of dirt and clay that formed a winding path - creating a small track to and from the hills, right outside of Shiganshina. The sun had all but settled down for the night and the slim moon peeked from behind the gigantic walls that created the perimeter of Rose and the innermost core of the human settlement while nightly creatures started to emerge from their hiding spots; the sparkling stars could be seen high up in the skies, peeking from behind the dark clouds sailing through the heavens.

Two lonely horses kept their descent, entering a small forest and following the small path at their ridder’s guidance; a small flame from a lonely lantern was their guide in the thick vegetation. Upon the black horse - carrying the lantern, a man could be seen using a small pair of glasses, fancy clothing (for Maria standards) and a small beard. He guided his mount to follow right behind a light brown horse that carried a pair of kids. One small boy that looked beyond pissed ridding the big horse with expertise for his age and a small girl that seemed rather shy; covering half of her face with a rose-red scarf.

The man sighed and approached the children’s horse. “Look, Eren, I know I was harsh back there and you’re angry at me. But you need to understand that I was afraid for you... I just don’t know what I would have done if you had disappeared or... Worse... Imagine what Carla would've done to me!” The man finished his sentence with a small joking smile. The young boy kept his gaze forward as if he hadn’t even acknowledged the other, but his shoulders and his hands loosed their tension; giving color to the previously white knuckles.

Not noticing the small difference in his son’s instance Grisha fell back again while keeping his eyes and ears open as it wasn’t uncommon for wolves, or other dangerous creatures, to encounter an unsuspecting group of people going through the thick foliage of the forest. The man would very much prefer to use a bigger trail - normally used for trading caravans, to the west but he ended up staying in that old shack until it was too dark (mostly because of those grumpy and lazy military police officers) and he would rather take his chances with wild animals any day over crazy bandits that were a common sight during the night.

Even more so after what the poor girl had just witnessed...

So, the small group kept their descent towards Shiganshina, where Grisha would be able to introduce Mikasa to his wife - after his hasty decision of adopting her. But the doctor knew his sweet Carla would accept the girl as if she was her own without batting an eye.

Suddenly Grisha lost his line of tought when he felt a small prick in his nape. It was as if a small needle had punctured the place, prompting his entire body to shiver as every hair on his body stood up.

When the strange sensation was over the older man didn’t think much of it; even forgetting the strange occurrence as the next thing he noticed was how the brown horse suddenly stopped, prompting his own horse to stop as well, before his son started to fall down to the floor from his mount - Mikasa being barely fast enough to catch the younger boy before he fell down.

The doctor hurried his own mount around the brown horse and got to his son’s side, helping Mikasa into settling Eren back on top of the horse as the young child was barely managing to keep him from falling face-first into the mud; only then the doctor noticed how HOT his son was.

Grisha fastly dismounted his horse, having Mikasa help him by holding Eren for a bit longer, and then getting his son to lay him on the cold forest path while giving the creature's reins to the girl so she could hold onto it while he inspected his child.

“Mikasa, why didn’t you tell me he was growing sick?!” Grisha rudely said in a sudden fit of anger while inspecting Eren over, his body temperature was hot...

Way too hot.

The doctor started looking Eren’s body for any cuts or even an indication of some slash in his flesh, the small girl watching everything from atop of her horse with a hint of fear and guilt on her pale face.

As Grisha’s mind started to calm down and assess the situation - as a doctor should, he noticed his mistake.

“I’m sorry Mikasa” The man apologized, he knew she wouldn’t know better and she probably was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice that Eren had his temperature increased. She had undertaken a very traumatic event for crying out loud, he shouldn’t use her as a way to vent out his anger and confusion in a critical situation like this!

Upon not finding any cuts or slashes on his little boy Grisha turned Eren back over and opened his mouth, hearing a small sizzling sound and seeing what looked like STEAM leaving his son’s mouth as his nose started to lightly bleed. The red shining in the light of the small lantern that was now forgotten by his side.

“D.. Da.. _Dad_ ” Eren struggled to speak as more blood fell from his nose; as if his own body was rejecting the vital liquid. The kid’s eyes were flickering between open and close as they rolled over the top of his head and his small body started to convulse in a sudden fit of seizure.

“Fuck!” Grisha loudly cursed while Mikasa was seeing it all with an ever-growing ghostly face, fearing that she might lose the last single strand of hope the boy had given her to keep on living. 

The doctor hastily got his bag and started to search for a vial while his brain was going miles per second trying to figure out what he could do. There’s no way he could bring Eren back to their house in this condition, but if he stays here without doing a thing Eren will be gone, he and Mikasa will probably die soon after.

Gathering a small amount of a dull-looking liquid in a syringe he fastly, and professionally, found a small blue vein and applied the compound to his son’s arm, taking care to not touch anything with his left hand that was by now covered with Eren’s blood but, strangely enough, the boy’s saliva had all but evaporated. A detail that fastly left the concerned father's head.

After he applied the injection Grisha kept track of Eren’s respiration patterns as well as his temperature, which seemed to finally dull to a more feverish looking one as his body stopped seizing. Sighing in relief and noticing Eren hadn't bitten his tongue off the doctor looked again at his bag, he only had two more shots available and he certainly wouldn’t be able to go back to Shiganshina to get more. Grisha covered his mouth with his clean hand and looked at the small girl.

“Mikasa, I need you to listen very - VERY carefully” He started saying but then, suddenly, Eren started to thrash around again. Growing confused Grisha used his hand and noticed that Eren’s temperature had spiked once more for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

“Shit. This is going too fast. What the fuck is going on” The doctor mumbled under his breath in concentration while he applied another bigger dose, on his son; giving him all that was left of the medication in a fit of desperation.

But it didn’t seem to work anymore as Eren’s body temperature continued rising and now his mouth had a constant stream of steam flowing in and out; mimicking his ragged breathing.

Then, the boy’s eyes opened.

And soon after a howl of pain followed.

Mikasa kept on watching as it was the only thing she could do; not understanding well what was going on, just that Eren was in a lot of pain and the doctor didn’t seem able to stop it. She felt her body freeze as all the energy and confidence she received when she killed the bad guy seemed to seep out of her, she didn’t know - _she couldn’t..._

**She couldn’t do anything!**

“Eren” Grisha screamed as he cradled the young boy in his arms, but Eren kept his blood-curdling screaming while thrashing in his father’s hold; his temperature constantly rising as the child felt like his skull was going to be parted into two with the amount of pain in there alone.

Mikasa finally found the strength to move, almost jumping down from her horse but, before she could give a step closer Grisha screamed at her to stay away, removing all the motivation the little girl had gathered in an instant as she cowered back; hiding behind the legs of the black horse while both animals were watching the scene unfold in slight agitation.

“Eren!” The doctor tried again, restraining his son even more - making sure his head was rolled to the side in case of vomiting, and finally getting the attention of the dull-looking eyes. “It’s gonna be fine Eren. It is going to be alright” The doctor said and kept repeating this mantra while swinging back and forth with Eren locked into his tight embrace.

The young boy kept howling and whining in constant pain. 

The doctor’s mind seemingly lost all focus as he couldn’t comprehend what was going on, not having anything to help with the situation in his small bag and not being able to go back to the district in case this grows out of proportion, he can't risk anyone else with whatever this is.

After some minutes Eren’s mouth started to bleed while the steam kept its steady flow and his eyes flickered between shining greens and dull grays. The boy’s face grew even more ghostly by the second.

Steam started to flow from his damp eyes and, soon after, a curtain of steam seemed to come from nowhere; fastly filling the area around them as the light of the small candle danced alongside the howls of pain and fear from a little boy.

The doctor, unaware of what was happening as he had all but given up, was only crying while repeating his mantra over and over again. Feeling with his own skin as Eren grew hotter and hotter; burning his father's arms, tights and torso while the man just kept repeating the same mantra that was, by now, a broken mess with his voice growing hoarse and his own body boiling in his son’s heat - everything Grisha could do now was to try and calm his son down before it was over for the both of them.

Only when Mikasa shouted a pained yelp of fear did the doctor open his eyes to see blood leaving every orifice of his son’s body; the pools of red shining in a gruesome way with the small light of the candle. His skin parting away and letting the life liquid flow out in torrents as if it was a sick version of red water.

“Mikasa! Stay away!” The doctor screamed while avoiding eye contact with the girl; his head was starting to get feverish as lightheadedness started to grip the corners of his mind. "I ne-need you to go to-to Shiganshina Mikasa” Grisha stopped to regain his breath. “You need to... Find... Hannes... Te- Tell him to... Get Carla” The doctor said as his mind hazed over the immense heat, feeling like he was all but gone at this point with his son’s blood touching his skin, nose and mouth.

He probably was a gruesome sight to see and the girl would be extremely traumatized but there was nothing he could do about it as he was probably long gone by now.

The doctor cursed under his breath again before cradling Eren, going back to his task of calming the boy down and cursing his luck as to not have brought a knife or... Something... With him. The doctor then eyed the big needles inside his black purse before giving up on the idea; they wouldn't help much in this situation.

Even in his feverish state of mind Grisha suddenly noticed that he never heard the horses trotting away. Feeling panic growing and gripping the corners of his mind the doctor looked back and saw that Mikasa was still there - witnessing as his son was dying in his own arms with a face as white as snow and huge shining eyes. Her hands turning white from her strong grip on the scarf Eren had given her not so long ago.

Cursing in his head the doctor was about to command Mikasa to go away once more but he was interrupted as he thought he had heard something... But that couldn't possibly be... Straining his ears and focusing again on Eren he managed to hear it again, and again, and again.

A sequence of sickening loud **Cracks**.

It was as if... As if Eren’s bones were simply... **Breaking themselves**... His small body spasming and his frame growing and expanding as if he was going to pop-up at any moment with steam freely flowing from every wound as the blood suddenly diminished its flow.

Eren’s eyes fully opened, his now shiny green irises were shrunk like a cat’s and had details in golden, purple and white linings. They were looking forward as if the boy could see something he himself couldn’t even phantom with eyes shining like a million stars.

Then, his entire frame shook and the wounds started to steam more and more as his own blood started to turn into steam upon contact with the air - the reaction bringing a sizzling sound barely audible with the boy hoarse screaming. The steam started to create an extremely dense white curtain around the area; expanding to all directions in a matter of seconds as even the candlelight struggled to go through the heavy fog.

Grisha could only look in despair as Eren’s body shook again and his tiny frame started to expand once more, now with layers of flesh forming from thin air and covering the boy’s body in a matter of seconds just for another layer to start doing the same process. The red exposed muscle was burning Grisha’s hands to such an extent he lost hold of his son, letting Eren’s body drop on the dirt as more and more layers appeared, one on top of the other. His mind barely being able to process that Eren wasn't screaming anymore...

He was howling like an ungodly beast...

The doctor could do nothing as he barely understood what was happening in front of his own two eyes. Behind the man, Mikasa finally let go of the horse’s reins and both creatures started to run away; startled by the sudden fog and screams as well as the strange hill of meat that was appearing on the floor and growing by the minute.

The girl kept looking helplessly at the scene as her brain had all but given up in understanding what was happening as well, deciding that it was all a dream, a bad dream, and she would wake up to her parents smiling at her...

Eren’s body was fastly overwhelmed by the amount of muscle, bone and tissue being formed, soon, everything left from the boy was a lump of meat that kept growing at an ever-increasing pace.

Finally, after what looked like hours for all of them - in actuality being a matter of painfully long minutes, the lump of meat had transformed into a giant tan-colored leathery form that was laying down on the ground. The trees that were too close to it had all but burned down to charcoal and the grass and plants around had turned into blacks and crispy-browns, as if a great drought had affected the region, followed by a never-ending fire.

Grisha was seeing the result of what transpired with his own eyes, he could still feel the intense pain of his burns, and he could still feel his lungs burning from inside out because of him breathing for far too long inside the giant wall of steam that had appeared. Yet, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn't bring himself to believe the feverish thoughts his head was telling him, and so, the doctor all but blanked out.

The leathery giant steered to life while it’s body started to move strangely - as if it was a doll being pulled by the strings of an incompetent puppeteer. The doctor snapped from his trance and ran towards the little girl, ignoring his stinging body and turning a blind eye to all the blood that covered him as he shook her shoulder, trying to get her to snap out of it as well.

“Mikasa!” The man screamed and then slapped the girl’s cheek, leaving a bloodied mark in there, but alas, getting her attention as she hastily addressed the situation at hand.

The Titan, what Grisha could only assume to be a four-meter class, towered over them. Without losing a single moment he grabbed Mikasa's hand and started dragging her as he tried to run away, but the dirt and clay on the ground as well as all the blood that had accumulated over the sole of his shoes made the man lose the grip of his feet, resulting in a rather shameful fall to the mud for the both of them.

Grisha could only think this was going to be the end but, for some miracle, the titan hadn’t tried to grab Mikasa, so the doctor gathered the girl from the floor - as she seemed to have spaced-out again, and managed to move his stinging legs towards his hopeless attempt of escaping with the overly-traumatized girl in his embrace.

But something made him stop dead on his tracks. 

A sound he never thought he would hear.

Feeling his arm-hair standing the man turned around briefly as curiosity won over caution when the sound repeated itself and Mikasa tried to wiggle out from his bloody arms.

The Titan was...

_...Whining..._

Grisha laughed, that’s it, he’s so feverish now he’s hallucinating! This is the only explanation!

While the doctor laughed in what seemed to be him finally cracking up Mikasa approached the titan, seeing its massive serrated jaws and lipless mouth. The human girl was very aware of their size difference and how easily the giant could squish her down if it so wished... Or even eat her like the people said they would do to those foolish enough to leave the protection of the walls.

But it’s eyes...

Or rather.

His eyes --

His eyes were a calming blue-sky... The same ones that managed to calm down the heated inferno her mind was turning into when the bad men got her after... Killing her parents... Confining her to the small cabin with the tight rope on her hands and feet... The saliva-coated cloth that kept her mouth shut...

...No one to call for...

...No one left...

But then those eyes... Those eyes found her when everything around her was gone... When she was left alone to fend by herself on this horrible - Horrible, world... Those sparkling blue eyes filled with the will to live managed to find her... Managed to reach her on the confines of her mind when her world was nothing but ashes of her previous life.

They were the same eyes that taught her that --

**\-- They live in a beautiful yet cruel world.**


	2. Mein Sohn

**\-- Chapter two: My Son --**

* * *

_Wha- What had happened?_

The boy questioned as his eyes fastly surveyed the canopy above - seeing the leaves moving with the weak breeze as clear as day. But he is sure it's supposed to be night, he even can see small sparkling dots in the faraway sky. So how can he see so clearly?

No matter what he does, he simply can't remember...

He can't remember it at all...

He remembers that he saved the girl - Mikasa, from kidnappers and how his dad yelled at him for it... He remembers how angry he felt for a while as they were all trotting back to Shiganshina, and how ashamed he felt after his dad told him how preoccupied he had been... He remembers he felt less angry but still justified as he had saved the girl and nothing... _Extremely_... Bad had happened...

He remembers feeling lightheaded when a small pain pierced his nape and how weak he felt as the world started to spin around him before it suddenly stopped and he felt something grabbing him. Then he thinks his dad must've gotten hold of him at some point and he was saying something but the words were too tangled together in such a huge mess he couldn't even begin to distinguish what was being said.

He remembers blinding pain and screams...

But who was screaming...?

Was it...

Him?

...

He felt Hot...

Too hot

And then cold...

Too cold.

...

After it all, he felt...

Nothing...?

Did he feel something?

Was he supposed to feel something?

Was he...

Dead...?

...

Shaking his head Eren looked around, noticing that he was laying down on the ground and seeing the burnt trees. The boy then decided to move, growing very aware of how light his limbs felt and noticing how his ears could pinpoint the exact location of something as he heard the beating heart of what he guessed to be a squirrel not so far away from his back to the right.

Moving to a sitting position with his legs spread out in front of him the boy couldn't help but notice how tall he felt as everything around him seemed to be slightly off... A feeling comparable to when his mom decided to change the distance of the furniture on their house.

Then Eren saw two small figures not so far away, if he was honest he could probably grab them without any problems judging by the distance alone... But they looked strange... Like overgrown toys? Their size simply wasn't right for them to be another kid...

As Eren let his eyes adjust and focus on the figures; struggling a little as he felt something sliding on his eyes as the night turned brighter, he noticed that the figures looked like...

_DAD!_

The boy tried to speak but his throat hurt and only a ragged sound escaped his mouth. The boy's mind started to swirl in confusion as he couldn't comprehend what was going on! Why were his dad and Mikasa so small? Or was he bigger...?

Why **WAS** he bigger?

Bringing a hand to his own face Eren felt with surprising precision how his teeth were out in a serrated position without any lips covering them, moving his hands he touched his extremely long ears and he suddenly grew very aware of how his own father seemed to run away from him while dragging Mikasa along...

Was he...

No.

He couldn't.

There's no way...

But was he really...

\- Was He Really,

A Titan...?

Feeling panic spreading inside his chest the child-turned-titan saw how his own dad fell to the dirt and mud while desperately trying to get up to keep running away from him in a very pitiful attempt. The smell of blood fastly reaching his oversensitive nose and making him flinch. The cursed thought that he was now a merciless beast kept reverberating inside his head; hunting his mind in a swirl of emotions until an unconscious sound escaped his throat.

A pitiful whine.

Without being able to control himself another whine followed suit just to be pursued by another one. The whining quietly continued as he dared to glance up. There, looking right back at him, was Mikasa - her clothes and face covered in a mixture of mud and blood, but her piercing gaze searching his eyes for something he couldn't even begin to describe.

His father had all but lost it as he was some steps behind the little girl laughing like a mad man with a hand lifting his hair and grabbing at it; his glasses dangling from his blood-covered face while his other hand was holding onto his side, probably in pain from laughing so much.

But Eren forgot everything about his father as his eyes met hers and his panic started to subdue just to be changed by another sensation:

_shame._

As Eren felt his ears dropping down the small girl gave one step, and then another, and then another; soon she was steadily walking the short distance until she was all but two paces from hitting his torso. This up-close she was so small her head could barely reach his throat. Then, as if Mikasa had no disregard for her own life, she lifted her hand and tiptoed to stretch as far as she possibly could, not understanding what she wanted Eren lowered his head a little and the girl finally managed to touch his oversized nose with a mud-covered hand, giving him the shiniest smile she could.

The boy-turned-titan couldn't contain himself as small droplets of tears left his eyes; just to evaporate soon after as if they had never existed. The girl then removed her scarf just to put it around Eren's oversized finger without batting an eye to the glob of saliva that dripped from his lipless mouth.

After the deed was done she looked back at the titan with a proud expression before Eren removed the scarf from his hand - much to Mikasa's disappointment, just to round it once more over her neck and face.

The young girl smiled as tears dropped from her own eyes and her hands reached to grab at the piece of cotton, seeking its comfort once more.

Both shared the sweet moment for a few more seconds before Mikasa finally broke it to look behind her; towards the now eerily quiet doctor Yeager. Both of them seeing the man now sitting by a tree with a blank expression while he witnessed the exchange between the girl and the titan. Something that not even the fairy tales would attempt to because of the sheer brutality of those beasts they named Titans.

Eren grew very aware of his father's red hands and burnt clothing as if he had touched something exceedingly hot without any consideration for his own well being. But the doctor didn't seem fazed at all by his own pain when he moved to get up from his sitting position and looked towards Eren without a hint of fear in his eyes. The adult's mind had finally lost the feverish haze and he managed to think clearly once again.

Grisha understood, even if he still couldn't believe it, that his son had turned into a Four-Meter Class Titan with a lipless mouth, serrated jaws, disproportionately large eyes and ears alongside what the doctor could only describe as baby fat throughout his rather proportional body - he was supposed to be a human eating beast that had no disregard over any human life whatsoever. But there he stood, in front of a little girl that had decided to give him back his scarf, just to have it returned as her own while both of them shared a more intimate moment than what the doctor could possibly understand over the fact that both had undergone some form of a traumatic event that'll, surely, change their lives forever. Only depending on themselves if this change will be for the good, or not...

"Mr. Yeager?" Mikasa softly asked as Grisha got up from his sitting position but never moved. Cursing his own mind for wandering too much in a time like this the doctor moved closer to the sitting titan, walking until he was only one step behind Mikasa and touching Eren's leathery titan skin, noticing how hot - and real, it all felt.

Suddenly losing his resolve Grisha started looking everywhere but his son's face as another glob of saliva streamed down his lipless mouth towards the floor, the adult man noticing very well how he couldn't avoid cringing when the small girl didn't even seem to notice it.

"I..." Grisha said as his eyes started to focus on everything else once again, not noticing how Mikasa moved to hold onto one of Eren's large hands - the one that was atop of his tight, while the other one was hidden behind his back, giving the Titan something to put his weight on.

“Eren. I -- _I don’t..._ I don’t _know_ **how** **\-- why** this happened I...” Noticing his son’s distress in his repetitive action of avoiding to look at him Grisha gathered what was left of his sanity and finally looked the Titan in the eyes - but it was just a small glance as Eren soon averted his own huge teal-colored eyes in what could only be described as shame; his ears pinning down once more.

Even though the glance was fast Grisha noticed something in those eyes, something that managed to melt his whole frame in an instant and convince him that no.

This is no Titan.

_This is my Son._

“Eren. Look at me” The doctor sternly said to his son who, after a small squeeze from Mikasa’s hand, turned to look at his father in the eyes. “You’re not a monster Eren,” Grisha then said with a small reassuring smile, seeing with fascination as the titan’s eyes winded as if they were about to pop out before they leaked with water that fastly evaporated in thin streams of steam; gently floating away with the current of the wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters on the same day! Yayyyyy I'm dying and it's over one in the morning ,-,  
> I should've been asleep but I can't stoooooop .-.


	3. Biest

**\-- Chapter three: Beast --**

* * *

Shinganshina was blooming with life even after the night had already fallen; different types of people tried to sell and buy stuff at what they believed to be the best price. Everyone was walking in different directions in an uncoordinated manner, creating a busy street while each individual tried to get to their destination amidst everyone else. The candle lamps belonging to the many stores and the rising moon being the principal source of light in the darkness of the rural district as the end of winter festival kept its course.

A man that looked like a beggar with his torn clothes that seemed to be burnt alongside his soaked frame walked through the busy streets at a fast pace while trying to avoid catching anyone's eyes. If someone had to guess they would say the man was drunk and decided to take a nightly bath in the river with all his clothing on for some reason. Looking more closely, someone could even say he managed to catch his clothing on fire and them jumped on the cold waters during the chilly night.

But if someone really paid attention to this lonely figure they would see the black and rather expensive-looking bag he was carrying that was hidden by all the mud covering it, and an even closer inspection would reveal the crazy-looking man to be none other than Grisha Yeager, the sole doctor that once saved the entire district of a horrible plague.

Grisha kept his fast pace while looking down and avoiding to make eye contact; embracing himself as if to make his frame as small as possible in the middle of the busy and rather dark streets. He prayed that no one would notice his rather metallic smell or recognize his face. He had to get home, get a change of clothes and then buy some meat, needing it all done by yesterday! Who knows what'll happen to Mikasa as the small girl had simply refused to leave Eren behind in the forest for some hours.

Not to get him wrong, he is really grateful that she is treating Eren the way she is, but the girl simply does not understand the danger Eren can be, principally now that he somehow turned into a Titan. If there's anyone -- Anyone, that knows about the horrors of being at the mercy of those sadistic and horrible beings it is him... Shaking his head left and right to rid his mind of those horrible memories the doctor kept walking in the cold night.

Finally, after walking for who knows how long in the busy streets he managed to escape from the craziness of the market area and reach the residential one which, gratefully, had almost no one other than a single group of small kids playing and running around, probably getting their mothers preoccupied that they were still outside so late at night. Without batting an eye Grisha started running towards his own house, praying that no noisy neighbour would see him.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Carla was sitting by the wooden table in the rather lonely house, Grisha had taken their son to go with him to a small cabin in the hills right outside of Shinganshina so she could have a day for herself and go visit some of her friends, but even though she came back home and prepared dinner neither her beloved Grisha nor her beautiful baby-boy appeared home.

At first, the old woman ignored it as her husband getting caught in his work or some kind of emergency happening with him needing to stay behind for longer weren't uncommon occurrences. But, as the night kept on creeping Carla couldn't help herself when worry started to cloud her mind, it was supposed to be just a fast checkup on a couple that was trying to have their second child with no success, it wasn't supposed to last this long from what Carla recorded from similar cases.

All this worrying led the mother to sit down on her wooden table on the opposite side of the door, glancing at it occasionally while sipping tea -- a treat Grisha brought for her after spending a long time visiting a friend on a small trading settlement inside Rose.

Her tea had turned cold by now but she was still meticulously sitting while waiting to greet her husband and child with a warm smile, even if she has to wait all night long she'll be there when they finally come home to greet them.

But what Carla didn't expect was to see Grisha barging through the door with a crazed look, he was soaked and his clothing seemed to be burned in some places; a strong metallic smell Carla recognized well filled her nostrils. The poor woman jumped from her seat and almost dropped her small -- but rather beautiful, teat cup. She noticed, with big aggravation, that Eren wasn't following Grisha inside when the man ran towards their bedroom. She looked outside but her sweet Eren was nowhere to be seen.

"Grisha... Dear... Where's Eren?" Carla asked with a small and rather shaky voice before hearing her husband cursing and falling to the floor in the bedroom.

Running there Carla helped Grisha change his pants while he took care of his shirt. Without explanation her husband got up and moved to get his saved up money before attempting to walk away without even registering her presence but, before the man could do so, Carla gripped his wrist; successfully getting his attention.

"Grisha!" The woman said sternly. "Where's Eren?"

Carla hoped he would say something like 'Eren went to Armin's house' or 'Shit I forgot him with Hannes!' or something alongside those lines, things that had happened before. Things she expected to see him doing after the long seasons they lived by each other's side. What she didn't expect was to see the way his eyes widened before looking away in shame, as if he had done something very -- Very, wrong.

"Dear...?" Carla asked in a small voice but everything her husband did was hold her hand gently to walk with her, going outside and walking into the night as she barely remembered to close the door.

Feeling her heart beating faster everything she could do was follow him as he mumbled something along the lines of "you'll need to see to believe me..." Before walking towards the market area.

Feeling her mind blanking over the situation, believing the most horrible thing had happened to her little baby-boy and remembering her husband's condition when he arrived home -- his clothes burned and soaked while his body recked with the smell of blood and death.

Feeling small tears filling her vision Carla couldn't do anything as she simply followed her husband, closing the world around her and trying to not believe what her mind was telling her, trying her best to avoid gruesome scenes of her boy dead on the cold floor somewhere all alone or ashes being everything left of him -- flying away in the cold night and not giving her little Eren even the chance of being properly buried...

Carla only came back to herself when Grisha touched his metallic smelling forehead on her own and whispered for her to calm down that 'everything would be okay' and that 'he would figure it all out'. Only then the woman noticed that she started hiccuping amidst her crying at some point she looked around to see that they were outside of Shinganshina, walking towards the dark forest as Grisha held one small candle lantern light and a big package.

The woman breathed to calm down and walked behind her husband with no fear of the horrors the dark forest could provide, her mind was set on seeing what had happened to her little Eren.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

The couple had walked endlessly in the dark and cold night, it felt like they were walking for hours now but, by the position of the moon, they must've been walking for less than two hours. Even so, Carla could feel the sole of her feet growing tired and sore, the only advantage of their long walk being the therapeutic effects it had on her mind as she was finally able to calm her racing heart down and compose her feelings.

If Eren truly was dead Grisha would've told her.

Right.

There's no way he would hide such a thing.

_Right...?_

Slightly shaking her head to get rid of such disturbing thoughts -- the calming night helping her, Carla kept on walking behind her beloved Grisha without ever doubting his motives, showing how much loyalty the wife had over her husband.

When Grisha finally stopped Carla looked around confused, they were still in the small winding path they were using and it didn't seem like there was anything of worth in there... Then the woman noticed the burned wood smell lingering in the air, why would someone make a fire in such close quarters to the forest? Unless...

"Mikasa!? Mikasa, Are you there!?" Her husband spoke the moment Carla turned to look at him which made her stop in her tracks, who was this Mikasa?

The woman heard a rustling coming from the bushes before seeing a small girl with dark-colored hair and eyes that looked way thinner than normal as well as a strange skin tone appearing from the dark forest. What was such a young girl doing there all alone? In the forest of all places? The mother noticed with delayed apprehension that the girl seemed to have bathed in a mixture of mud and blood as the weak candlelight was their only source of light.

"Is... Is Eren there as well?" Her husband asked in small agitation, the girl simply nodded which prompted the mother's attention to fully focus on her.

"Eren is here? Where is he? Can I see him?" Carla fastly got a tight hold of the girl's shoulders before asking question after question to her. Prompting the girl to coward away but not noticing it as seeing her little Eren was everything in the mother's mind.

"Carla, calm down" Grisha grasped her wrists, making her lose hold of the girl who fastly walked back and away into the dark; Carla slightly regretted her action for a brief moment before looking at her husband with anger.

"Where is my son Grisha. Why can't I see him?" The woman spoke with venom dripping from her voice.

"First I'll need you to cal-"

"I am calm. Now show me my baby boy" Carla said with the viciousness only a mother hen can manage to produce when their offspring are in danger.

The man sighed and nodded. "Mikasa, can you bring Eren out?" He said before strongly staring back at Carla, forcing her to look at him as he spoke. "Carla, dear, Eren is... Different... I don't- I don't know how to explain it. How or even why it happened... It just... Happened. I promise I'll try to expl-" At this moment the trees parted away with loud cracking noises as something massive moved towards them.

Carla's heart stopped as she took in the sight that presented itself in front of her. A huge beast lurking in the dark of the forest could be seen as the weak candlelight illuminated its huge serrated teeth in a gruesome display for the tiny human and the histories she learned throughout her life as well as the severed body parts she would see coming back from expeditions on the outside.

It looked down at her, strands of saliva pouring from the menacing whites as no lips were present to prevent such occurrence. The beast's tan leathery skin shining in the light as it looked at her with it's huge and shining green pools of eyes -- the beast being something she could only refer to as Titan: an aberration that lived outside of those huge walls that protected humanity, eating humans for no other reason than the pure pleasure of killing them like insects.

The old woman could only look with dread as a scream started to bubble from her chest, threatening to leave her mouth. But then, she noticed the small figure of a girl hiding behind one of the legs of the beast, registering for the first time the red scarf she had around her neck -- the same red scarf she had lent Eren before he left.

As the beast approached the light its green eyes turned into blue ones as his huge pupils adjusted, showing her their true color: a cold-ice mixture with specks of bluish-green around.

"Eren...?" Carla asked as she approached her son that now looked like a four-meter tall Titan.

The beast -- or rather, her son, answered back with a small whine as his eyes shone with hurt while his pointy ears fell down in shame.

"Oh, my baby boy! What happened to you?" The mother squeaked in anguish as she fastly approached the Titan as if he was nothing more than a child, touching his chin and rubbing the area while her other hand tried to reach for his own. Eren whined more as tears fell from his eyes just to disappear in the form of steam on his hot skin.

"Mikasa, how did he act? Did something strange happen?" Grisha asked the girl who was looking at Carla comforting Eren in a way she couldn't ever be able to, feeling slightly envious of the relationship she had lost not so long ago, and then shaming herself for even daring to think such a thing.

Mikasa shook her head "no" after she managed to focus on the doctor and his question, ignoring the bad lingering thoughts on her head.

"Did he seem tired?" The doctor asked while his wife was comforting the whining Titan, Eren lowering himself and receiving a huge hug from his mother on his face, the woman not caring as saliva covered her clothes through the gap on her son's deformed face.

Mikasa nodded, he seemed to grow very sluggish as the night kept ongoing but that should be normal right? She was getting tired as well, but he kind was tiring out faster than her.

The doctor turned serious for a second, looking at Eren with caution before lifting from the bending position he used while he was talking with the girl. He approached the pair with caution in his step, something Mikasa fastly noticed as he seemed to be the only one who feared Eren. But why would he do so? Eren was his son, he would never hurt him nor his wife. And Eren saved her, so he would never hurt her either. Right...?

"Eren... How do you feel? Are you tired? Sluggish maybe?" The doctor asked while he approached them, Carla fastly noticed how her husband was treating Eren. She knew it would be inevitable as he came from outside the walls, but he was still their son for Maria's sake! No matter his form or size.

She would need to talk with him later, he can't treat Eren as if he is a mere beast -- treating him like the ones outside the walls, he's not a beast, nor a monster, he is their little Eren. And that's final.

Her little Eren nodded his head in agreement to the doctor's questions, Carla almost huffed. Men say they can never understand women, but how do they expect to understand them and their ways when they can't even tell when their own children are tired!? It's obvious from the way he moves that he will go right into dreamland the moment his head touches a pillow, which makes her think, she will need a bigger pillow... And a bigger bed at that...

The doctor nodded and touched the big package he brought with him, Eren's nose flaring as he looked at it in interest while Carla tried to remember what Grisha had bought. She remembers walking through a lot of stores as her husband asked around but she didn't have enough focus to try and concentrate on what he was doing as her mind was more focused on her worrying thoughts at the time.

"Eren... Are you perhaps... Hungry?" Her husband asked and Carla felt dread as her hair stood up, what is Grisha trying to do asking Eren this? Mikasa seemed to question why her husband was doing such a thing as well as both girls locked a questioning gaze to one another before looking back at Eren and Grisha.

At first, Eren refused to answer, knowing very well what it might imply to those around him as he was very familiar with the tales of the monsters lurking outside the walls and how they feasted on the -- brave, soldiers that ventured outside to see the unknowns... To see all the things Armin showed him and even beyond that.

But as his father asked again Eren lightly nodded his head in shame. He didn't like to admit it but as the night kept on creeping and the cold managed to start reaching his hot skin he felt something akin to hunger, but it was different, it didn't look like the normal hunger he had as a boy with his stomach curling on in itself and demanding something to keep it busy, he felt like just grabbing something -- he didn't know what, and shoving it down his throat. And that made him very anxious about himself.

His father then offered him a big package, it had a strange smell of metal mixed with something akin to a sweet he had smelled before in some of the more fancy pastries on the innermost district.

"Eren, can you eat this for me?" Grisha asked, Eren looked at him in question as he slowly moved his hands -- with the most caution he could muster, and collected the package, noticing how his mother was glaring at his father and how Mikasa was intently looking at the package as well.

The child-turned-titan opened the packaged to see something red dripping from it, Eren whined in fear before the smell could reach his nostrils which prompted him to glare intently at it, fighting to keep himself from shoving the strange and raw meat into his now overly salivating mouth, feeling the excess falling from his teeth and into his chin even if he wasn't looking down.

But what managed to get his eyes pried away from the morsel on his hand was the sharp and painful slap sound he heard coming from where his father stood. Eren fastly lifted his eyes to look right in time to see his mother's hand slapping his father's right cheek and soon, her hand found the way to slap again at the left one that was already turning beet-red. Eren cringing at the sight as he knew how painful his mother slaps could be.

Grisha could only look in disbelief as his wife went for a third slap in his already red-cheek while he saw the look of pure hatred on her face. "How could you!" She hissed with venom. "How could you treat Eren as a... A beast!" She hissed again as she went for a fourth slap.

Mikasa was seeing the scene unfold alongside Eren -- whose ears were falling down in shame by the second while the arm holding the package lowered down.

He won the fight over refusing the meat as he felt disgusted with himself.

Grisha finally gripped Carla's hands as she tried to give him yet another slap.

"Let me go!" Eren's mother hissed as she contorted her hands, but Grisha's were way stronger than what he let on and so, he kept his tight grip on. "Only when you listen to me!" He finally said in a stern voice.

Carla struggled some more before her anger finally subdued and she calmed down, her hair turning into a mess and covering part of her face as sweat covered her body. "You can let me go now," She said with a calm and composed voice as she huffed the stray strands of hair that were reaching her nose away.

To be honest, Carla thought she was dealing rather well with the situation. Her son had turned into a human eating beast and her biggest concern was the need for a bigger bed for him to sleep on.

But being even more honest with herself, Carla was afraid. She knew she was afraid of the repercussions, of what could happen, of tomorrow...

And she fears not being able to understand what is happening, she can't comprehend how Eren -- her sweet Sweet Eren, turned into a Titan. But those Titan's eyes were the same ones as her sweet boy's. The Titan wasn't hurting anyone, and Eren's scarf was on Mikasa. What other explanation is there for all of this?!

So, she believed her husband. She believed, even more, when she herself felt that Titan cannot be someone else other than her little Eren purely for the way he acted and reacted towards her. But now? Now Grisha says for their child to eat raw meat like some sort of... Beast of -- monster?!

That she cannot let happen. He will not treat Eren like a mindless thing! Not even over her dead body!

And this resulted in her assault, but now, being more composed, she decided she'll let Grisha try and give her his explanation, let's see how bad it'll be...

The doctor released his hold and, as his wife didn't try to assault him again, he sighed and messed with his hair to try and get his mind in order, when he was finished he looked up to see Carla with crossed arms and a pissed expression waiting for him to start talking.

Eren had dropped the meat to the floor and was sitting away from it alongside Mikasa who, noticing the seriousness of what was going on, had distracted the giant by playing with him using their hands and singing a small and barely perceptible tune.

"You know how I came from outside the walls" Grisha spoke after looking back at his wife, she simply nodded. "Well, it is not only that... I came from another human settlement, just like this, the only difference is that-"

And so, the man started his tail of lands infested by titans, of their unchecked reign over the tiny humans and how hard and pathetic life was for them, how they were the true cattle and how free those living inside Maria, Rose and Sina were, even if they did not notice it.

Then, he spoke about his own family.

He spoke about the connection his father told him they had with the Titans, saying how he believed it all to be mere fairy tales as there was no way such a thing could have actually happened.

Carla heard it all, she heard the long and tiresome tale that seemed so far-fetched -- so brutally fake and hand created that she couldn't help but see herself inching towards believing it, not that she's crazy, but because she knows her husband, and she knows he would be able to come up with something that could actually feel true and use words she didn't know to hide the in-between lines right under her nose.

But even though she wanted to believe him she simply couldn't, she couldn't forgive him for treating Eren the way he was.

In the end, Carla decided to keep the story on her mind, not seeing it as the whole truth and just using it to explain some things about Grisha and about what happened to Eren. She turned to see that Mikasa had fallen asleep alongside Eren who had his eyes closed as well, but the mother could very well notice the way Eren's ears moved at every sound, knowing instantly that he was faking it.

Sighing, the mother, who looked to have aged decades in the span of a few hours, approached her Titan-son and lightly touched his leg before applying some pressure and calling his name, when Eren finally opened his eyes she saw Grisha approaching with the package in hand.

"Eren, mommy needs you to eat okay? It's pork so no need to be afraid, dad said this will be good for you. Dad is a doctor so he knows okay sweetie?" Eren looked at her with a pained face but moved his head to hesitantly agree as his ears fell down.

She knew how Eren was feeling right now, she knew about his obsession with the Scouts Regiment even though he did his best to hide it, she knew he felt like a monster that would kill anyone without a second glance. And principally, she knew he was feeling disgusted with himself for what he was about to do. Eren loved meat, and he would not lose the chance to eat it even raw if he could when she did not pay attention, but now? The way he is? This will just make him feel even more uncomfortable with himself and the situation at hand.

But if what Grisha said is true then eating cooked meat can do more harm than good to him. And she is not taking chances even though she does not believe him.

The Titan carefully got the package from Grisha's hand and removed the leather that covered it before opening his bizarre mouth and plopping the morsel inside, Eren cringed at the flavour as the smell was much more attractive than the actual taste, but he nonetheless gulped the entire portion down and nodded as if it was good trying to make a smile with his deformed mouth. His father seemed relieved but his mother looked at him with something akin to suspicion before smiling and nodding herself.

"Very well done Eren, you can go back to sleep now," Carla said as the titan didn't lose any time over closing his eyes and faking sleep again, just wanting to curl in on himself and disappear.

The woman moved away with Grisha following her while holding the empty package with a thoughtful expression. "What now?" Carla asked, suddenly turning on her heels and looking directly at Grisha who was following her -- looking at his wife with startled eyes at the sudden movement.

"It's good that his body didn't reject the meat. That would make things even more complicated. But I think the taste of pork really was enough for him" Carla started at him but refrained from talking. "The problem is the amount he'll need. We won't have enough money even if you start working to give the nutrition his body will need if he starts growing"

Carla rubbed the bridge of her nose, normal Titans don't need to eat, they live off of sunlight right? So why would Eren need to eat as well? Carla heard Grisha's tale but even he doesn't know why Eren would need to do so, just saying that he needs to eat meat or he could start rampaging like the Titans outside.

The woman looked back behind Grisha as he started mumbling numbers, he was a smart man but he had no clue over reading people's emotions and so, he was easily fooled. Eren didn't like the taste of the meat and Carla didn't want to think about the implications of it, saying to herself that maybe he doesn't need to eat, and ignoring the fact that Eren nodded when Grisha asked if he was hungry after some hesitation. The mother just hoped everything would fall right into place in the end.

Carla then looked at the small girl sleeping alongside her Eren with a happy face on, then it hit her, she was so preoccupied with her own child she never asked Grisha about the other one.

"And what about her?" Carla suddenly asked.

"What about who?" Grisha questioned as he totally lost track of the amount of money they would need to sustain Eren -- taking into account a normal child consumption cost and multiplying it by his sheer size and mass.

"The girl, Mikasa," His wife elaborated, he totally forgot about her as well.

"We're adopting her," Grisha said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Carla simply nodded, making a mental note to ask more about her when things finally calm down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, here we have another one and a very wholesome at that. At least I think so... Tell me what you think of Carla's characterization as her personality was never truly described other than being a great mother that cared for her children. I do believe she couldn't have another child after Eren by some complication when he was born otherwise I would say she would already have a lot of little one's to take care of while Grisha was away, believing, like in the Rogue universe, that she wouldn't shy away from adopting children, or even Titans at that.  
> LMAO, now I imagined Carla with all the nine Titans as her kids playing around while she repeatedly tries to get them to behave and- NO BERTHOLD YOU CAN'T KICK THAT WALL! REINER STOP RIGHT THERE! YOU CAN'T RUN INTO THE WALL EITHER! ANNIE STOP BEING MEAN TO EREN! 
> 
> And I know that my chapters have no consistency in length, sorry about that but I just keep writing what I think will fit in that chapter and in what is happening, so sorry for the funky chapter's length as well .-.
> 
> Welp, that's it for now, I have no idea when another chapter will be written! See you someday ,-,


	4. Eine Familie von Lügen

**\-- Chapter four: A family of Lies --**

* * *

_The following weeks were filled with turmoil for the Yeager family._

It all started on the same day as the 'end of winter' festival, a day that should have plenty of joy; celebrated by those that survived the harsh winter to see the blooming flowers of the beautiful spring that would follow. But that day was one of sorrow and grief for the Doctor and his wife as a pack of savage wolves living in the forest right outside Shinganshina killed their son -- the only child the couple could ever have.

No one knew of what happened until a drunken Garrison soldier saw the doctor and his wife walking towards the forest during the chilly night, the soldier ended up spreading the word; family friends asking what had happened on the following day when the couple was seen with a -- rather strange looking, small girl instead of their son. All of them seemed tired and Carla seemed to have aged decades in the span of a day.

It didn't take long for gossip to spread around, the most spread history being a gruesome and spicy tale of an affair where both women fought, being told that, in the end, Carla survived but lost her own child and the girl of the second woman managing to stay alive, protected by the doctor.

It isn't unrealistic to say that that story didn't survive for long as the doctor was seen, for the first time in his entire life, inside a bar drinking his face off while telling a tale of his kid saving a young girl who had lost her family just to be killed by a pack of wolves, leaving little to be seen when the body was discovered. The family decided to bury their son in a beautiful and secretive clearing inside the green forest as a proper burial could not be done with what was left.

That night a lot of men, and even women, offered to help in what they could to kill the beasts that ended the life of the Doctor's little boy -- avenging his life in the name of the district saviour, but Grisha refused every single one of them, saying that matters had gone personal, and borrowing a gun from an old hunter.

The Doctor spent three days before he finally found the wolf's den; wasting no time to kill all of them -- fifteen beasts in total.

All done by himself with no help.

To say everyone was impressed was an understatement.

While the doctor used his sorrow to fuel his avenging attempt his wife seemed to have gone mad... Carla wouldn't visit or even talk with her friends anymore, she would be often seen moving lethargically on her house and would almost never be seen in the market as Grisha started to go there by himself to buy them food and essentials. Carla would space out very easily during conversations and she wasn't as sweet and loving towards her husband as she used to be.

But the strangest thing about her was the way she reacted; anger directed towards anyone who would mention her son being killed by a beast.

And not only that, she would always leave her house in the morning to go outside Shingansina -- towards the forest her son was killed. Presumably to spend time by his burial site.

The worst thing of it all, though, was that the small girl the family adopted was dragged into all of that, going with Carla to the forest and not making any friends nor playing around as a little kid should do.

Mikasa would always be quiet and keep everything to herself. Even when concerned neighbours approached the girl to ask if everything was okay she would simply nod before hiding inside her house, not leaving for hours to no end. It reached a point nobody would even see the girl moving from place to place.

What no one could understand tought, was that everyone in the family refused to say where the burial site was. They would accept flowers and Carla would bring them with her whenever she went into the forest, but no one really knew exactly where she always went to. Some people even growing concerned with her safety as more wolf packs could live in that forest...

But even if people tried following them they would lose both of them from sight. Some people even reached the point of claiming that they had found the burial site but, when someone else went to check it, it wasn't the right place; being just a normal clearing with nothing else to see...

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

The golden-haired boy kept hidden behind some plants and a short wall that belonged to a neighbour of the Yeager's household. It was really early in the morning; the sun wasn't even out yet, but he knew it was about this time both Carla and Mikasa would be leaving their house.

The small boy didn't want to do this, he didn't want to follow both girls like a creep around, but they simply refused to say where Eren was buried and, well, Armin was alone... Eren was his only friend and he couldn't blame himself for the huge depression he felt when he learned Eren had died... One day they were playing around and talking about the outside world and the other he was gone, just like that.

After Grisha killed the pack of wolves the boy asked Carla where Eren was buried so he could visit his friend, but she refused to give away the information.

This confused Armin as she looked hesitant of not telling him, as if there was something she did want to tell but she simply...

_Couldn't..._

And that picked Armin's curiosity, getting him out of bed and moving around to question people; what he got was something he did not expect. No one in the family seemed to be reacting the way they should if Eren had really died.

He knew Carla very well as she was basically his second mother after his own disappeared and he went to live with his grandpa -- taking care of him whenever he started getting depressed, and helping him with bruises whenever a bigger boy would hit him.

So, he knew she was a strong woman that loved and cared deeply for Eren, but she seemed way more concerned than sad whenever Eren was brought up in a conversation. Grisha was acting strange as well, he would be seen in the bar drinking every so often, sure, but his overall demeanour when he was not in the bar was almost normal, if not concerned, whenever Eren or the forest was brought up in front of him.

He would usually be seen with the other hunters, hearing what they were talking about and asking which paths they normally used to hunt, but he would never accept going on a hunting expedition with them. Nor did he attempt to hunt anything else, even tought he would still stick around to the older men.

But the most difficult thing to understand was the place Grisha claimed he had found the wolf's den in. He said to everyone it was on the other side of the forest, but how he managed to get there on foot? And what about the horses he got the day Eren was attacked, why would both of them still be fine when Eren was not?

All of this just fueled Armin's curiosity as he knew that the Yeager family was full of lies, but he didn't dare to tell anyone that because he knew they had a reason to lie so much, but what? What could be the reason?

It surely had to do with Eren and him not being able to be seen in public.

But why, exactly?

That was what Armin wanted to know.

And so, he spent long days and nights trying to elaborate Carla's timing when leaving to the forest and following them thought a portion of the way many times as he was still unsure if he had the right to know what he wanted and with the crazy things they would do to not be followed.

But today?

Today he was decided, he would see what had happened with his own eyes.

No matter what.

He reached his decision after he followed them around just for Mikasa and Carla to leave their flowers in a random clearing and go back home; knowing it was random as no other flowers were there and, not so long after, Carla went by herself to the forest again with him staying behind as she left without his knowledge, just overhearing the information from her concerned neighbours.

And it wasn't the first time that occurred...

The door opened and he saw the girl, Mikasa, moving outside. She was carrying a bag full of stuff while she fumbled to close the door behind her, this picked Armin's curiosity so he waited for the girl to walk away; looking around to be sure no one was seeing him, before running to the house and peeking inside through the window. Upon not seeing anything strange he moved to the bedroom window. There, he saw Carla curled up in her bed with a cloth on her forehead, she looked to be very sick.

Armin felt bad for her and wanted to go inside and help as he knew Grisha had left the district to help with sick people inside Maria -- the doctor seemed to be getting a lot of jobs recently; the boy made a mental note about it.

The blond soon gave up on his idea of helping, this could be used to his advantage as it would be harder for Mikasa to spot him as it is hard enough for the boy to hide with his sun-colored hair. So, Amin ran, managing to reach the girl soon enough as they always took the exact same path -- unless they felt they were being followed.

With that in mind, Armin carefully followed Mikasa around even if doing so was extremely boring for the boy who was more excited with the prospect of finally finding out why, and where, the family has been hiding Eren than needing to follow the girl around like a creep.

Soon enough, tought, they reached the district gates and Amin followed Mikasa thought them, giving the excuse of needing to get firewood for his grandpa to the Garrison soldier guarding the gate -- which wasn't exactly a lie as he had told his grandpa he would be getting wood; after seeing Eren.

He paid the small fee and walked outside, being careful to go in a different way than Mikasa -- who seemed to have grown very aware of her surroundings. Armin discreetly gazed at which direction she was going before faking to be doing something else.

After she was a good distance away Armin made a beeline and started to walk towards the forest as well. But only when Mikasa entered the three-line Armin quickened his pace and managed to get right behind her in time to not lose the girl entirely from his sight -- something that had happened before, leaving an overly frustrated Armin to just furiously scratch his head and then leave to stare at the forest from outside and see where they would come from when leaving the three-line.

As the kids walked further and further away from the three-line Armin got even more mindful of every sound he could make -- a single misstep there could cause Mikasa to bolt or to simply abort the mission and go back home, something that had happened before in many situations as both Mikasa and Carla changed their path or left the flowers in random places before leaving. Carla going back out and into the forest at a random hour by herself on the same day, sometimes doing it even in the dark of the night.

The following day they would change the time they would leave... Which always managed to frustrate the blond boy to no end as he would need to start it all over again.

Being honest, at this point, it had all turned into a huge game of cat and mouse, with Armin -- and some other nosy people, trying to follow them just to be totally thrown away off course as they would often separate to confuse whoever was trying to follow them and would do the craziest things to discourage or even run away from their pursuers.

But Armin was the only one who kept insisting; he knew Carla knew it was him, he could see it in her eyes whenever he talked with her that she wanted to say something to him, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it.

Finally, after a long time, Mikasa stopped in a clearing before opening her mouth.

"You can come out!" Armin's mouth hit the floor.

The girl had never talked in front of him -- or in front of anyone really, so he just assumed she couldn't. But it seemed he was very wrong.

Then he heard it, the sound of leaves wildly rustling while the threes were moved away with loud cracks so a huge towering figure could emerge from the shadows. Its hulking image moving deliberately slow as its head hung over Mikasa's form; a stream of saliva dripping from where its face was as it looked down at the girl.

Right there, in front of Mikasa, stood a Titan --

A despicable human eating beast that could only be found outside the walls.

The beast was a monster only present in tales children would tell each other to spook themselves, learning them from their parents whenever they would misbehave, being told how they would be abandoned outside the walls so the evil creatures lurking outside and scratching at their wall could eat them whole.

But right there -- right in front of the small girl, stood a four-meter tall Titan as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Armin's heart spiked and adrenaline started to pump into his veins, his mouth opening in a silenced scream of horror as his body froze into place; mind overheating as he couldn't comprehend what was happening right in front of him.

Then, the Titan moved its hand towards the girl.

The golden-haired boy moved before his mind could comprehend that his body wanted to leave the girl behind to meet her own fate just so he could survive another day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we have yet another one. WOW I'M ON A ROLL DUDE.
> 
> Jokes aside, we managed to reach 100 hits in like what, four days? That ought to be a record... At least it is for me... Well, it might be that the fandom is just huge, but I want to be happy with myself so I'm gonna say you guys are liking it :3
> 
> So, if you're really liking it remember to leave a Kudo behind! And I try to answer all my reviews so... Yeahh, try to leave one of those as well, don't be shy, and you can always review without using your account as it is allowed.
> 
> And for those wondering that are too lazy to search on google translator, THE NAME OF THE FIC IS "The price of freedom" in german, all chapter's titles are in german as well with the translation inside.
> 
> Ok, now I'm done here. See you soon. I just don't know when... It might be tomorrow, it might be next year, who knows? I don't LMAO. See ya! And love ya!
> 
> (And it's midnight right now, So I'll probably be correcting typing mistakes for the next while... Oh well, that's life!)
> 
> And thanks for the 101 dude or dudese that left a Kudo behind as a guest. You're the best!


	5. Freundschaft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dude WHAT?! It's not even been a week and RedCoaster gave me a friging KUDO? WUT!?!?!?!
> 
> Daaaaaaang like, I knew I was writing a lot this week as creativity suddenly decided to bite my arse and make me function way into dawn but holy moly, I never EVER expected to be seen so damn fast. 
> 
> Well... I can attribute it to the fact that my fic has been on the top of Titan!Eren fics for a while now as no other fic has been updated (this makes me sad ;-;) but I still can't believe it like, wut?
> 
> Anyways, THANK YOU SO MUCH RedCoaster, it is really nice to see that you at least saw my fic and gave it a Kudo. And I am waiting for that sweet -- Sweet, update to see what else happened in Rogue's past. But I understand that depression and writer's blocks are bicthes that follow us around every-fucking-where so take your time to write and be satisfied with what you've written as feeling well with your own work is what really matters.

**\-- Chapter Five: Friendship --**

* * *

The first week after he turned into a Titan things seemed to happen too fast for Eren's liking. From his dad asking him to find a wolf's den to him helping the doctor in killing the wolves with an old hunting gun to appease the people on the district so no one would go into the forest for glory while giving them an excuse of why Eren was missing.

To say the boy was not pleased with the situation was an understatement. But he knew the consequences that would ensue to himself if someone, or worse, a soldier saw a Titan inside the walls. He would surely be killed on the spot, no matter what he could do and how passive he was -- compared with other Titans.

So, Eren complied, he did everything his family asked him to; avoiding trails and every place even remotely near where his dad said the hunters were using, not too much noise, not too much movement, walk carefully and only in the night -- impressively enough he could stay awake and moving long hours after the sun disappeared before entering a strange trance-like state until the sun appeared once more over his leathery skin. After his dad discovered this he made sure to lecture Eren on not moving at all during the night, but as he would grow restless this was one of the few rules Eren broke.

Only when things finally started to settle down his mom and Mikasa started to come to visit him every day, Carla attempting to make a gigantic and fluffy scarf for him to sleep on while Mikasa would play and sit by his side; calming his raging nerves down with her composed nature.

Then, one day, they failed to show up.

Eren got anxious, to say the least, thinking of what could have possibly happened to make them leave him there all alone without any warning -- locked on that fleshy cage of a body with only his thoughts to give him company; mind betraying him and saying how his family found him repulsive and how they would never come back to see him again.

That day was one of the few days Eren stayed as still as a rock in the same position without even daring to twitch a muscle. Even when the night started falling he waited patiently for something -- anything, that would prove his mind wrong.

But only when the moon was very high up in the sky he listened to twigs breaking as a single pair of footsteps approached his location, the boy-turned-Titan didn't even have the will to try and see if the footsteps belonged to someone he knew -- rather leaving his future to fate as he had all but given up.

Then, a small form could be seen approaching with a small candle lantern. When his mom saw the way he was hunched up in a depressing and lonely embrace to comfort himself from his own mind she all but broke down saying apology after apology to his trance-like state. The only indications that he was actually listening to her being the small steam of steamy tears that would leave his eyes every so often.

Carla spent that entire night by his side, explaining how she believed her and Mikasa were being followed into the forest and how they left the flowers in a random place before going back home and waiting until night so she could be sure nobody would follow her again.

The following morning, when Eren was finally able to move, Carla woke up with her Titan son giving her a huge -- but rather careful, hug while weeping and whining like a little baby. Contrary to what one would believe, instead of crying in fear as she woke up to a gigantic and deformed mouth to her face, Carla was crying because the life of her precious boy was forever changed without his consent or even knowledge.

He had suddenly turned into something that everyone would see as a monster with no heart nor remorse while, in truth, he was just a scared little boy who couldn't even comprehend what was going on...

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Eren wondered what had happened to Armin and if he was fine in the back of his mind when he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching him. His mom had explicitly instructed him to only show himself if he confirmed one of their voices or if he heard the double footsteps approaching their meeting site -- changing every so often as to avoid Eren staying in the same place for too long.

"You can come out!" Mikasa's voice reached his gigantic ears.

In the back of his mind, Eren wondered if something was wrong. When his mom and sister approached they would wait by the clearing for him to come out on his own instead of making loud noises; Carla being the only one who would come by herself whenever she and Mikasa ended up needing to go back home in fear that someone might be following them, coming back only when she deemed safe.

Shrugging it off as his sister simply wanting to see him Eren stirred up from his sitting position and slowly moved his body to avoid breaking too many tree branches as his dad had instructed -- the less they leave behind the lower the chances are for him to be found.

The boy-turned-Titan finally approached the clearing, looking down at his little sister while a stream of saliva poured out from his lipless mouth. Eren still found it repulsive and terrifying whenever it happened but, as most of his family seemed to not mind it, he managed to accept that that was just something his new Titan body did without any malicious intent; humans salivated without needing to eat so the same could happen to Titans...

Eren then moved his hand towards Mikasa so she could touch it in greeting like she always did but something got his attention before he could finish the movement... The four-meter class looked around searching for his mom but before he could grunt questioningly at Mikasa he heard a twig snapping, followed by the footsteps of someone running away on the grassy forest floor. The sound was excessively loud on his sensitive ears and even his sister could hear the non-rhythmic steps of someone desperately running for their lives.

Without Eren even understanding what was happening Mikasa had a knife in her hand; pursuing whoever had discovered him. The girl's promise of keeping him safe, no matter what, echoing in the Titan's mind when she spoke to herself thinking he was asleep and couldn't hear her.

The Titan finally moved, not caring if he broke down twigs or even entire trees. He had to stop her before something bad happened, Eren didn't want anyone dying just to protect his titanic skin. They needed to, at least, convince whoever it was that he wasn't a monster and hold them in place until his parents can figure out what to do.

When the boy-turned-Titan reached his sister, after noticing with growing aggravation that the sound of running footsteps had stopped -- substituted by grunts of a close-quarters struggle, he saw Mikasa on the floor debating to hold a blond kid with her left hand while her right hand was lifted in the air; knife on the ready for the perfect strike as soon as the chance arises.

Eren moved with precaution as he attempted to do something he never dared before: he grasped the girl's arm in his massive hand. The knife fell to the dirt with a silent thud when he, unknowingly, applied too much pressure.

The blonde boy managed to free himself and crawl away in fear while his electric blue eyes were shining inside sockets that seemed ready to burst out as his mouth opened in a small 'o' shape when he saw the huge Beast holding Mikasa.

The Titan tried to softly coo his sister with a hoarse sound -- his voice better suited for high-pitched roars and menacing growls. As his attention was diverted from the boy while Mikasa struggled to make him let her go so she could protect him none noticed the boy running at them with the knife in hand.

A startled yelp escaped the Titan's lipless mouth as his hand received a deep cut, resulting in Eren letting go of Mikasa as the broken skin started to repair itself with steam flowing out of the cut. The process of healing was such a strange sensation that it managed to caught Eren's attention for a moment as his skin pushed the knife out on its own. Mikasa's left wrist was being strongly gripped by Armin as the boy started to run away with the girl in tow, both kids too induced on adrenaline to properly understand what was going on.

But, after three steps, Mikasa used her bruised arm to grip the boy that has been following her and Carla for the longest time before spinning around and locking him on the floor with a tight lock on his neck -- the boy's face growing red as he stopped breathing.

Seeing Mikasa's purple arm Eren hesitated to move for brief seconds as he feared hurting her again but, as the young blond boy moved around frantically while trying to get away the Titan caught a glimpse of his face.

Feeling his heart freezing for an instant Eren moved and managed to carefully pry Mikasa away in time for Armin to cough and hack on the floor before his limbs gave up and he fell unconscious.

The Titan watched in worry as Mikasa got up from her sitting position on the grass -- his prying not being gracious enough to leave her standing, while she cleaned her clothing from all the dirt that managed to get there. After fixing her hair and getting it out of her face Mikasa stared at him for a long moment before moving and graciously getting her knife from the forest floor. Only then the Titan moved to stay between his scary-looking sister and his best-friend as to say that he wouldn't let her hurt Amin.

Mikasa incredulously looked at Eren before sighing.

"You win. I'm not going to hurt him anymore" She said with some hesitation while trying to look at the unconscious boy behind her gigantic brother. "But we'll need to keep him here until I can talk with Carla about what happe-"

Before Mikasa could finish the boy started stirring up as his body regained consciousness with the air resuming its natural flow of in and out. With only a look from Mikasa Eren moved away as she fastly held the boy down; pinning his head in a tight lock so he couldn't look at Eren's direction behind both of them.

When Armin finally managed to open his eyes despite the midday light shinning in them from the canopy he noticed that he was restrained by thin, but rather strong, arms. As the memory of recent events flooded the boy's head his heart rate spiked while he tried to keep his breathing controlled.

He wasn't dead.

They weren't dead.

Where was the Titan?

Why were they still in the forest?

Why was the girl restraining him?

"Keep quiet. If you try to scream you're going to go back down. Do you hear me?" Mikasa's voice entered through his right ear as her arms moved around him to show that she could -- and would, start choking him again if she deemed it necessary.

Amin kept his mind in check while slowly nodding.

That Titan was definitively real, it was interacting with the girl and even moved to grab her.

_Did it really?_

Going back at his memory why wasn't Mikasa scared? But even before that, why was a Titan here? Inside the walls of all places?

Was he... Was he wrong...?

"Now, I need to ask you. Why were you following us?" The black-haired girl said with irritation clear in her voice.

"I..." Armin gulped as he felt the arms tightening around him as if the small and fragile looking girl was, in reality, a poisonous viper curling all around him to leave no prospect of escaping -- preparing to strike him down when he least expects it while giving him just a shimmering glint of hope.

Armin has the slight impression that a wrong move here can truly lead to the girl killing him without a single drop of remorse.

"IfollowedyoubecauseIwantedtoknowwhathappenedtoEren!" Armin spoke it all in one single sentence, taking the girl by surprise as she loosened her tight grip just to adjust it to be even tighter than before. If that was even possible at this point.

The nine-year-old boy started to feel his mind getting light as the lack of proper airflow started to get apparent with his face growing red. While Mikasa was trying to understand what Armin had just said the boy's head was in utter turmoil despite the lack of oxygen in his system.

If Eren had been killed by that Titan Grisha would've told someone, there would be no need to hide this. Unless that could be an experiment? But there's no way the doctor could've gotten a Titan on his hands; not even the scouts had permission to do it. But what if it wasn't from outside? But that wouldn't explain Eren's disappearance or how it got inside. But if it really was from inside the walls and killed Eren the doctor would've still told someone. Unless...

No.

It couldn't be.

That's crazy.

Way too crazy.

"Do you know Eren?" The girl silently asked in a menacing voice as her grip tightened; her mind finally understanding that Armin had ended the sentence with her brother's name.

Without being able to answer with all the squeezing Armin could only nod his head in desperation as black dots started to appear around his vision. Then, a deep and throaty rumbling like sound echoed in the clearing, he felt Mikasa's hold finally loosening as his vision cleared and his head started to throb.

Eren, who was watching the -- mostly one-sided, conversation unfolding right in front of him tried to remember Mikasa that she promised to not hurt Armin anymore while, at the same time, he wanted to confirm his friend's words. When his sister turned her head around Eren nodded, making sure she understood that what Armin was saying was true.

Finally, after long seconds of hesitation, she totally loosened her grip on the blond boy.

"I hope you won't try running away then," Mikasa said while making sure Armin was always at a grabbing distance.

The boy's reddened face from all the squeezing finally looked up to see the girl's face up close for the first time, taking in her differences from the normal faces he sees everywhere in the district. Soon after his gaze changed directions to the four-meter tall Titan that was behind him.

The first thing Armin noticed was the extremely different features it had from what they were taught. If titans were so unique looking there would've been even more terrifying stories for bad-behaving children.

The second thing he noticed was the titan's huge teal colored eyes, a mixture between blue and green. The boy couldn't help himself but remember how Eren's eye colors were so unique to the point of changing between blues and greens depending on the lighting...

Armin's laughter echoed around all three of them as Mikasa prepared to punch the boy on his guts. Meanwhile, Armin was having too big of a breakdown to even notice the tension his own laughter was creating. He couldn't believe it! Right there was Eren! But he was a fucking Titan!

Mikasa's arm moved before Eren could grunt his disapproval at what she wanted to do. Armin fell to the floor holding his hurting stomach as his laughing continued and tears poured from his eyes while his mind tried to not accept the conclusion he reached.

"Forget what I said. I am going to kill him" Mikasa coldly stated as she gripped her knife. But this time Eren was finally able to move faster, getting Armin from the floor and lifting him up into the air; away from the psychotic nine-year-old girl that was trying to stab shit with no remorse.

"You-" Armin tried to say as his voice broke down in more laughter. "You have to tell me what happened" The boy managed to squeeze a sentence as his laughter was finally dying out. "Eren" The blond boy finally said as he managed to somewhat compose himself; believing that what's happening is -- indeed, real.

Armin saying Eren's name receive the exact reaction he was expecting.

_So it is true then..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Special thanks to all my readers as we've reached 131 hits and 14 Kudos in under a week, what is going on in this community? This place is booming with activity! It has been a while since I have last been inside a community so active as this!!! You guys are the BEST!
> 
> Now going back to my usual commentary I finally managed to finish a chapter before needing to go to bed if I want to have a productive day tomorrow YAYYYY for me! Just praying that there are no really big mistakes on this one...
> 
> I really liked writing this chapter as I'm not that used to writing fighting scenes which resulted in a very one-sided fight from Mikasa that I think was decent enough? At least I hope so. I really need to improve my hand-to-hand fight describing abilities if I want to write a proper SNK fic. Oh well, just another thing to learn!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well, and now I really do not know when another chapter will be made as I really postponed a lot of shit to write... That's not good... Yikes for my adult life and my adult decision-making skills!
> 
> Hopefully, see you guys soon! And hope you're all enjoying it thus far!


	6. Wahrheit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another chapter! It took me some time but here it is. I warned you the updates will be funky! And the chapter-length! 
> 
> AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH
> 
> We reached over 300 hits in under a month, like what? 
> 
> Currently, we're at 312 hits and 29 Kudos, you're guys are tha best!

**\-- Chapter Six: Truth --**

* * *

The day Armin found out what happened with Eren was a long one for all three of them. Mikasa couldn't bring herself to trust the newcomer even if her brother vouched for him and he was friends with Eren before he turned into a Titan. Who knows what the boy could do? Who he could tell what he found?

But against better judgment, the black-haired girl helped Eren when he was trying to explain what had happened to him in the evening he had saved her, both siblings finding the task more difficult than what they imagined with their limited knowledge and the impression that not even the adults could properly explain it. But they tried to anyway as Mikasa hoped it would help on gaining the boy's sympathy and Eren was just happy to see his old friend once more.

After a long talk between the three of them, mostly done by Armin and Mikasa as Eren couldn't really talk, the girl finally decided it was time to go. She was torn between asking Armin to stay with Eren or taking him with her...

On one hand, if she leaves him to Eren, he'll be able to escape as soon as night falls with Eren growing sluggish and not being able to move to hold Armin back. On the other, if she takes him with her she'll need to go through the gates and Armin could simply ask for help there. Even if it's nearing nighttime and the Garrison will most likely be drunk they'll still question a girl holding a screaming boy in a deathly grip.

She could always just silence him tough...

Looking at Eren, the blond newcomer and then at her knife Mikasa reached a decision. The girl knows Eren might never forgive her but it is what she must do if she wants to protect him. Life isn't fair and Armin chose his fate when he decided to follow her...

"Hey, Eren," The blond boy said as he lifted up from his sitting position when Mikasa told him they should start to head back. "We're still going to see the ocean one day. Together." The black-haired girl simply watched as her brother happily nodded to what Armin was saying, she had no idea what the "ocean" was but she could see the dangerous glint of mischief shining on both boy's eyes.

"We really should get going now" The girl warned as Eren waved at them with a contorted grin that could barely be classified as a smile on his face.

Mikasa let Armin walk slightly in front of her as she watched his every move like a hawk, ready to catch him if the boy ever decides to try sprinting away. If she could she would end him right there but they're still too close to Eren who would easily smell his blood. They need to get further away if she wants to do it without Eren running straight at them and getting the attention of every single living thing in the region with his loud footsteps.

"You know, we should try to find some way for Eren to talk with us, so he won't feel as lonely... But he can't speak... Form words actually... Writing would be too difficult... Too much time... Need something like mud for him to do it... Drawing won't work well either..." Armin started to mumble as he walked. Mikasa was only able to hear a few sentences here and there as she focused on staying aware of her surroundings and how far they were from Eren.

The blond boy kept on mumbling under his breath and, after walking for a long time with him not stopping on his own, Mikasa finally decided to interrupt Armin as all his mumbling was getting on her nerves. He just seemed to have forgotten she was still there.

"What is the ocean anyway?" She asked just so he would stop talking to himself as if she was a ghost. The girl didn't expect to see Armin turning around with shiny eyes as he started talking at an increasing pace.

"The ocean is like this blue lake that is so huge you can't see the other side of it. There's plenty of different colored fish and the water there is full of salt, so much so that drinking it could even be harmful. You could be lost in a boat inside the ocean and you wouldn't be able to drink any of the water! But! If you separate the salt and the water correctly you can safely drink the water and have salt for free!" The boy said with lively enthusiasm as he held her hands and looked at her with sparkling eyes.

Mikasa stared at Armin for a long second before the boy fumbled away and apologized with reddened ears before they kept on walking.

"I know it seems fake... And you might not believe me... But my parents went to see it. And one day, one day I'll see it as well and find them" The blond boy said after a dragged silence with a small smile on his face.

It was as if he knew it was a childish dream, but he still believed in it with all his heart...

Some more time passed by as they walked in silence before Mikasa looked around, this far away should be enough.

The girl inched her hand towards her knife with cold sweat building on her chest and her heart starting to loudly beat. She does not understand why she is so nervous about doing it now as before she seemed fine with it. But this is it. There's no going back now.

"Eren will see the ocean with me... So I guess you could come with us as well... If you want... That is..." The blond kid nervously said as he kept on walking, not noticing that Mikasa had stopped as she looked at him in surprise.

"And why would you want me to come with you?" The girl suspiciously asked when her face went back to her normal neutral expression. Armin finally seemed to notice that she lagged behind him as he turned around to look at her. The setting sun in the distance working its way through the canopy and reaching the boy's hair that started to shine like a million gold coins.

"Well, you're part of Eren's family now. And you really care for him... So... I thought... That you may want to come as well?" Armin said in embarrassment as he fidgets and looks at her with a small smile. "Oh, and I figured it out!" He then almost squeaked in excitement.

The black-haired girl squinted at him as she did not understand what he was talking about while she tried to hide the heat that spread throughout her chest when she imagined herself and Eren seeing this "ocean" together.

"If Eren can't say words and writing would be too troublesome he could use his hands" Armin wiggled his fingers. "We could create words and even phrases for different positions of his hands. Like a puppet show in the dark!" The boy elaborated.

Mikasa looked at him for some uncomfortable seconds before signing and relaxing her shoulders.

"We really should keep going," She said with a more relaxed voice and both of them resumed their walking.

The black-haired girl never noticed how relaxed and less jumpy Armin seemed to be after she decided to walk by his side all the way back to Shinganshima.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Both Armin and Mikasa finally left the three-line when the sun was disappearing behind the gigantic walls. The stars were starting to peek through the clear sky as no clouds could be seen. The temperature was steadily rising at each passing day; spring was approaching as more and more flowers started to bloom and show their colors to this beautiful, yet cruel, world.

The kids approached the gates as Mikasa felt the familiar staring everyone in the district seemed to like throwing at her whenever she was walking somewhere as if she was some kind of exotic creature.

"Oi, Mikasa. What took you so long?" A voice spoke in the distance as the girl saw a duly-blond Garrison soldier approaching. When he finally reached then he looked both kids over.

"Armin? Weren't you going to get some wood?" The Garrison asked as a very strong smell of alcohol reached both kid's nostrils. Armin slightly recoiled away in revulsion as Mikasa kept her neutral expression.

"Everything went fine Hannes, you don't need to worry. Armin just got lost after he fell a small slope and I helped him come back. The wood he gathered got full of mud so we just decided to leave it behind" Mikasa swiftly explained a forged lie to explain why Armin had no wood and was somewhat covered in dirt and mud - a consequence of Mikasa's one-sided fight with him in the dirt, as well as small bruises that surely could be seen forming on his face and arms by now.

Hannes looked Mikasa over and noticed the big-ass bruise she was trying to hide on her right arm, his face contorting in concentration as the drunken soldier pointed at it. "And how did you get this?"

Mikasa kept quiet for a few seconds while the Garrison glared at Armin with inquisitiveness.

"I fell the slope as well" The girl finally said in a straight voice with her neutral expression.

The garrison stared them over one more time before sighing. "Just be sure to not get hurt the next time you come here Mikasa, you know how Carla can worry"

Armin and Mikasa started to walk as Hannes moved away from their path but he gripped Armin's shoulder when he tried walking past the old soldier who seemingly did not notice how Mikasa's shoulders lifted in tension and her hand slowly inched towards her waist where her knife was kept. "Armin, be kind to her, would you? And it's nice to see you walking around so lively again, don't ever forget there are people who get worried over you as well"

Armin nodded before Hannes finally let go of his shoulder. The two kids were able to go through the district gates and, without losing a second, they started fast-walking towards the Jaeger's household.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

When they arrived it was already dark outside with the stars being the only thing illuminating their path as the moon was still hidden behind the walls. Mikasa was really nervous when she opened the front door while still keeping an eye on the blond boy, making sure he wouldn't be able to run away with her not noticing it. She doesn't know if she made the correct decision back there in the forest and she does not know how Carla will react to her being so careless to the point of letting a kid follow her and find Eren after all they've done so this wouldn't happen.

Sighing as she knows she needs to go through with this Mikasa leads Armin into their tiny, but rather inviting, house. The girl silently closes the door behind her after the boy entered and removes her mud-covered boots as Armin, who was looking at everything that had changed over-time as he was seeing the house for the first time in a very long while, scrambles back to the entrance to do the same as he didn't want to get mud all over the floor. While Armin was busy removing his shoes Mikasa silently walked towards Eren's parent's bedroom to peek inside.

"Oh. Hello Mikasa, I didn't even hear you coming in. Is everything okay, what took you so long? How's Eren?" Carla asks with a warm smile as she lowers down the small book she was reading.

Mikasa jumps a little at that, she wasn't expecting Eren's mom to be awake as, in the morning, her cold seemed really bad. Thinking it must be one of the perks of being married to a doctor Mikasa calmly enters the bedroom while trying to maintain her right arm hidden on her back. Amin, who heard that Carla was awake, decided to stay in the dark living room after removing his muddy shoes.

Mikasa nods letting out a small smile of her own. "Everything was fine, Eren got a little preoccupied you didn't come today but he understood it as he agrees you should get better from your cold"

Carla nods. "That's good" She then notices the weird way Mikasa is acting as she seems to be very nervous about something. "Hey, Mikasa, could you get me a new towel on my wardrobe?" She then points at the small cold towel that was on her nightstand inside an almost empty bowl that has some water. "I wanted to change this towel for some time now but getting up from my bed gives me a huge headache so I wasn't able to do it yet"

Mikasa nods and moves to the wardrobe, opening the door and lifting herself up on her toes so she could try and reach the towels on the uttermost top shelf with her left arm just to, unconsciously, slightly lift her right arm, which was hidden in front of her, to stand directly in front of Carla's sight as to help in reaching the towels. When the girl noticed the pain on her arm she understood the mistake she had just done, but now it was too late to try and change it.

"Mika, what happened to your arm?" Carla asked with a very serious voice.

The young girl kept frozen in place with her left arm still trying to reach the towels before she finally lowered it down and looked at the floor much like a kid caught on doing something they shouldn't.

The old mother smiled sweetly. "Oh Mikasa, you don't need to be afraid to tell me what happened, I won't be angry, I promise"

At this moment the old floorboard of the living room loudly cracked with Armin's weight on it, gathering Carla's attention as she tried to peek outside in curiosity. "Grisha, are you back already?"

Knowing she wouldn't be able to hide it any longer Mikasa silently moved to the door and looked outside. "Come in" She simply said to the darkroom that didn't have any light source as the lamp besides Carla was the only light in the entire house.

After some seconds of silence, Carla heard footsteps before a very small figure started emerging from the darkness, their silhouette getting illuminated by the lamp to reveal a small blond boy with bright blue eyes.

"Good night Miss Jaeger" Armin said while slowly fidgeting with his fingers in nervousness and looking down.

"Armin?" Carla asked after a long and excruciating pause.

"Yes...?" The boy asked looking up.

The woman looked from Armin to Mikasa a few times not quite believing the best friend of his son would befriend the overly shy Mikasa like that, but then understanding befalls over her face and a small smile made itself present.

"He knows" Carla simply stated getting both kids by surprise, but before they could ask anything her smile disappeared as she looked at the small boy.

"Armin I'm so, so sorry," The old woman said as she moved her arms to prompt the boy into getting closer with another smile, when Armin was close enough she gave him a big hug. "It was hard, wasn't it," The mother said.

During the next few minutes, the room was filled up with sobbing and crying as Armin's tears seemed to never have an end, the frustration and despair he kept to himself all those weeks finally gaining a voice.

Mikasa kept looking at the strange scene unfolding in front of her while not understanding much of it as she knew next to nothing about this strange boy that seems to have a deeper connection with the family than herself. The girl felt slightly hurt at that but when the crying died down to a few sobs Carla looked at her and moved her arms as if inviting Mikasa for a hug as well.

The nine-year-old looked at Carla, who was smiling at her, and then at Armin, who seemed to have considerably calmed down, with her usual neutral expression as she internally debated between going in there or not. The woman wiggled her fingers in a playful manner before Mikasa finally decided to very slowly walk closer and when she was at grabbing distance, Carla didn't lose the opportunity of pulling the young child into her arms next to Armin in a big hug.

"I know it's been hard for you too, you don't need to act tought around me Mika," The mother said as her hand found its way into the small girl's head to caress the area in the loving way only parents can muster.

For the first time since her parents died Mikasa cried like a little girl over all the things that happened to her. She cried and cursed their world and the cruelty that existed in it inside her heart as her mouth kept on sobbing and screaming; giving a voice to the suffering she kept for herself all that time.

That's the position the small family kept for the next hour, both kids letting their frustrations, fears and anxiety out while crying and relishing the comfort of a caring mother that took both of them as her own to help, and take care of, whenever they needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this one was really hard to write as I was unsure of what to include and what to exclude. I'm still not sure whether to make this fic a very slow one or make it faster. But in the end, I decided to include Carla's reaction and remove the time jump I was planning to do as, probably in the next chapter, we'll go through what'll happen during the following four months before things get interesting again.
> 
> But I'm still unsure if it will happen in one chapter, in two, or if the time jumped will only be described in a few paragraphs.
> 
> Welp, let's see what'll happen. But don't expect an update soon as I'm full of college stuff to do, so yeah, fun...
> 
> Ah well, hope you liked this chapter and see ya next time!


	7. Wachstum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys, sorry for the long wait! 
> 
> I'm doing fine and I was actually trying to spend some time with my family during the break. I'm not going to enter in details but I don't live in my house as I do college in a city very - VERY far away from home and when I came back for my break I decided to spend time with them but now that the break is almost over I decided to finally finish this chapter.
> 
> And WHOA I come back to see that we went from 312 hits to 850 as well as the Kudos that jumped from 29 to an astonishing 64!?! What happened??? I love you guys so much!!!
> 
> This is such a nice change from the troll that appeared on my other alt telling me to end myself so dang! Thank you!!
> 
> And as I said before I really want to finish this fic but chapter length and release dates will be funky as heck as my college is really hard and I do other fics and stuff on alt accounts and pseuds so yeahhh, sorry in advance if I vanish for some weeks or months...

**\-- Chapter Seven: Growth --**

* * *

"Great! Keep it up" A male voice said as the wind shifted again; a loud bang followed by the creaking of breaking bark could be heard while the ground slightly vibrated from the impact.

Grisha observed the sun lowering down in the distance while he felt the wind suddenly and aggressively hitting his back in a second strong gust when another punch was thrown into the poor tree that was chosen to be used as training material.

He has been training Eren for over two hours now on hand to hand combat. Even tought he would love to be as optimistic as his dear Carla he knows Eren cannot live in here - inside these walls. His titanic body will need nourishment at some point. Nourishment he can't provide with his limited pay...

Looking back at Eren he saw his son's arm moving back and preparing for half a second before launching forwards at full speed, hitting the bark again with such intensity the huge tree finally decided to give up and fall down to the forest floor. These trees are not as remotely impressive as the ones from the Gigantic Forest in the most Western region but they still have a great size to be good targets for Eren's training sessions.

The doctor painfully notices once more how fast Eren has grown through the last weeks - he's almost completing two months since he was blessed with this curse. Eren's baby fat seems to be constantly diminishing while his body has grown from four to an impressive five and a half meters, give or take. And even after all this time, Grisha can only guess why this has happened to his only son. Each one of the guesses worse than the last as each and every one of them would spell certain doom upon their lives and the lives of those who live inside these great walls.

War is most likely coming and none is the wiser...

This is why he needs to train Eren...

While there's still time...

"I think this is enough for today" The man finally said when he noticed Eren was looking around for another tree to punch.

His titanic son stopped moving and looked down at him which prompted a small shiver to run down his spine. The doctor cursed himself once more for not being able to make his body understand that this is Eren and he would never do something to hurt him. He is extremely aware of how uncomfortable his son feels when he does this as he seems to be the only one who can't go past his fear... Even Armin stopped to shiver in the presence of the overly soft and careful titan.

Slowly and cautiously moving his hands Eren asked "What. Doing. Now." using the sign language he has been creating with the help of both Armin and Mikasa.

Grisha made sure to pay attention to the smallest details as losing a single movement could lead him to understand wrongly what Eren could want to say before answering.

"You should head back through the outmost Easter path while I go through the southmost, no hunters should be there... And remember, no one should know about this, okay?" Eren eagerly nodded.

It was easy to convince his son on enrolling in hand to hand combat practice as the boy seemed very eager on learning how to fight, the difficult part was convincing him into not telling a single soul about this as Grisha is sure Carla would strongly disapprove of it...

He understands she wants to believe that Eren will never face danger and that he'll be able to peacefully live the rest of his life inside the walls as he wants the same thing. But the World at large has other plans and now Eren won't be able to survive in this cruel place they live in unless he learns SOME form of combat.

Principally if what Grisha fears the most turns into reality. Those beasts could be coming after them at this instant and none would be the wiser if they did not prepare in what they could... His only hope is that Eren did no-

A small grunt called the doctor's attention as he looked up to see shiny greens pools staring right back at him. Smiling Grisha patted Eren's crooked nose. "See you soon Eren," And with that, the human and the Titan parted ways as both started their walk towards where they should supposedly be by now.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Carla looked at Eren, Mikasa and Armin as they lively talked and thought of new words and phrases Eren could do using his hands and, maybe, some of his grunts so he could communicate and express himself better. She needs to admit Armin's idea was wonderfully brilliant and, although it had a few problems in the begging, it has been working very well as Eren can express himself way better than before simply because he now has a way to do it.

But they'll still need to work extremely hard if they plan on polishing this new language in order to keep it more simple and easier for others to learn. And there's still a lot of words and phrases they need to uncover and create new signals for, so their days is always filled with new ideas and plans of what they can do while Armin uses few pieces of paper and some ink Grisha provided to save the new signals and words they agreed on so she and Grisha can learn them as well or use when they do not know what Eren is trying to say.

The mother smiled as she could see a brighter future for her son with friends and family to visit him and keep him company while maybe even new people could come and learn about him as he would be able to 'talk' for himself.

But then a small frown crept on her face as she looked over Eren's body. It's impossible not to notice he has grown a meter and a half over the last weeks as well as the lacking baby fat he had on his face and torso; it's still there, but it's way smaller than before...

This means Eren is actively growing, and this can bring some complications as to how much will he grow and, worst of all, if her's and Grisha's efforts will be enough to satiate his growing hunger and whatever else his body may need to keep healthy...

She's not stupid by any means, she just wants to believe Eren can peacefully live inside the walls... But deep down she knows this is a dream that'll never happen as people would fear him too much; they won't be able to comprehend him, his existence... And what people don't comprehend... Well...

They destroy...

Like a mob of angry little bees ready to eliminate any threat to their nest the humans inside the walls would do everything in their power to get his head on a silver plate and his body a steamy carcass on the floor. The soldiers would be used and she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. She might even be killed and called a witch in the process; alongside Grisha, Armin and Mikasa.

Putting these thoughts in the back of her mind Carla stopped the delicate movement of her hands and decided to leave the gigantic red scarf she was currently making on the floor to get up and walk over to her children. "Can you guys teach me the new words you've created?" The woman asked and the kids were really fast in getting her sitting down in a comfortable position to teach her what they've been up to.

The next hours were spent with the four of them talking, laughing, and teaching each other their new ideas for new words and phrases so things can be simpler for Eren and everyone around him.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

A thunderous sound echoed inside the huge and quiet forest, prompting the animals living in it to run and hide in fear of what could possibly be the creator of such a loud noise. The small birds flew away in panic, the deer scattered as far as they could with their hearts on their throats, the squirrels ran and hid on their little nests, and every other animal did their best to either run or hide.

Eren shook his head once more in frustration as he looked up to the Gigantic wall in front of him. His finger-nails were long gone and his fingers were bleeding as the normal tingling sensation of his regenerative abilities could be felt over his sore body and his bleeding hands, the wind blowing small trails of steam into his face as his hair was playfully shuffled around by the sudden gusts that are common near the walls.

He has been trying to get up this wall for a long time now as it has been some weeks since he started trying to escalate the behemoth in front of him with no success. The furthest he managed to climb being something at around fifteen meters before he fell; managing to break a lot of his bones in the process... It wasn't a fun experience. So, in order to train himself, Eren tries to get up something around ten meters to then go back down without falling.

This process of going up and down has repeated itself over the last few days and, although progress is slow, he can say he's getting faster and faster at doing it.

Looking up at the sun the child-turned-titan uses his ponty ears to confirm no one is near before deciding to get up and walk back to the clearing he's supposed to be in.

Eren knows he can let his feelings get the best of him in most situations and that he's an expert at doing things before thinking them through - endangering him and his family in the process, but he's not a stupid boy.

He knows he's in a really dangerous situation. If anyone sees or even catches wind of him he'll be a sitting duck to be killed or... Worse... As the Scouts may want to do experiments on him or something. He needs a way to escape if it happens, and he knows his dad is thinking the same when teaching him how to fight... Who else would he fight like that other than Titans?

They're all using their time to create ways and means to let him keep living while getting him leverage over the ones who would rather see him dead when his existence finally gets out in the public. He's a Titan for Maria's sake! There's no way they can hide him all his life inside these narrow walls. And if they can how long is he supposed to live anyway? Will he have the same lifespan as a normal person? Or will he live longer? Perhaps shorter?

Sighing as steam left his lipless mouth Eren kept creeping on his usual track, careful to not leave anything behind that may prove a titan has been secretly living in this forest as his ears rotated attentively to catch any sound that may not be normal.

He doesn't want to think about it but it may come a day where he'll need to leave his family and friends behind so everyone can be safe... With lowered - but ever so aware, ears the strange titan kept his way while trying to avoid thinking about all the bad things that could happen in his predicament.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Armin kept looking down at the dirt, playing with a stick on it while retching sounds reached his ears. He was talking with Mikasa and Eren like usual when his friend's body decided it was a good time to pass a Titan-pellet out.

The blond boy knows it's all animal meat, but he can't stop showing on his face that he thinks it's gross. So, he decided to keep quiet and look down to give Eren space while Mikasa was doing the polar opposite; trying to help her brother out by holding his hand and saying that it was all going to be okay even though Armin thought it would just make the experience worse for Eren.

When the sounds stopped a foul smell reached Armin's nostrils indicating the pellet was finally out and all there was left to do was bury it. Giving a small glance Armin was once again intrigued at how different Eren was from other Titans as even his pellet was different. The young boy managed to read a book that detailed how a Titan-pellet would contain the, mostly intact, body parts of the humans it ate. Nothing would be digested as their stomachs most likely kill them from the intense heat or the lack of air, no one is sure.

There isn't much known about Titans, but what there is simply shows how extremely different his friend is from any other normal Titan as even his pellet is different; a very small and very compact ball of something akin to a yellow-greenish colour; containing a white paste inside covered in a layer of a yellowish-green sticky substance that would harden over time.

After some more minutes, Eren finally managed to bury the pellet away so the earth can take care of its remains before walking back and quietly sitting down next to Armin. Mikasa was following her Titan brother during the entire process like a mother hen.

The blond boy didn't lose time on leaning in his friend's frame as to say he's there and everything will be okay while Eren heavily breathed, probably tired of passing the pellet out as it came to their knowledge that the process actually injures their friend's throat after some blood came out with it.

The young boy looked over to see Mikasa on the other side of Eren's frame as she leaned on him as well, both kids absorbing his titan heat; Spring was ending and the rainy season of Autumn would soon come to take its place.

Armin worryingly shot a glance at his friend, Eren was almost over seven meters tall now and he kept growing nonstop. His body is starting to show some muscles here and there as his fat is slowly but surely disappearing, and this worries the young boy as this must mean Eren's not eating enough and that he is moving way more than he should without anyone knowing.

Mikasa has noticed it as well. They even started helping Eren on hunting deer and other forest animals so Grisha could take them to a butcher and sell the unused pieces to bring back even more meat, but it didn't seem to be enough as Eren would lie through his teeth and say he wasn't hungry at all and that everything was fine.

Sighing Armin looked upwards towards the kind and blue sky. Clouds were lazily sailing through the light-blue as the wind carefully shuffled the green and yellow leaves of the canopy. They need to find a way to fix this and get more meat to Eren, there must be a way! He just needs to find it...

While Armin was struggling internally Mikasa looked at her brother, much like Armin she noticed he needs even more food but there's no way they can get more unless they agree on... Doing some ethically questionable choices to keep Eren well fed...

And they must agree on something fast, she still remembers Grisha's and Carla's late-night talks, how he says Eren can go crazy and kill a person much like a normal Titan would do if his hunger is not satiated...

"Eren..." The girl said getting the attention of her brother as he looked down at her, his frame panting as he must be tired from the pellet still. "I want you to know that, no matter what happens, we're family. And we'll be always here for each other, okay?" The girl said with a small reassuring smile.

Eren's lipless mouth contorted in a deformed grin as some saliva poured out from it in his attempt. Armin, hearing Mikasa, decided to touch Eren's arm and get his attention as well. "She's right, we're all here for you"

The titan slowly nodded as a small trail of steam escaped his eyes and cheeks for a few seconds before he decided to carefully gather his sister and his best friend from the floor to nudge them in the most delicate hug he could muster. Ever so aware of their size difference and his own growing strength.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Grisha shuffled his own hair once more in frustration as he looked down at the written numbers in front of him. The candlelight doing nothing more than giving him a weak light to see the paper he has been working on while the small flame lazily danced around. It was a chilly night outside as Autumn was making itself present, overtaking the heat of Summer and bringing long and rainy days their way.

A small cup of tea was put in front of him as a small and kind hand touched his shoulder, the steam of the recently brewed tea dancing at the same pace as the small flame to a song none could hear. The old man removed his hand from his hair and covered his face in frustration while grunting.

"Grisha, is everything okay?" Carla asked as she tried to look at his paper, but even if she can read somewhat and knows something or another about medicine and drugs she cannot wrap her head around written numbers; often forgetting their respective symbols even tought she's really good at spoken math.

The doctor shook his head and shuffled his own hair once more. "We simply can't"

Carla looked at her husband, "We've talked about this before, we will find a way"

"No, you don't understand" Grisha replied while getting his papers and waving them around before slapping them back at the table, "At this pace, we'll never be able to keep it up, even if I manage to go live in the capital I'll simply not make enough money, it'll never be enough"

"Grisha, we've come this far, we can-" Before Carla could keep talking Grisha held her hand and looked at her eyes.

"No. We Can't." The man said and when he was sure Carla was listening he let her hand go, "You've seen it as well, Eren's starving. He's thinning out; even his muscles started to diminish. We don't have enough time to even try and save for a farm as you wanted. And even if we did Eren would need to eat all the animals before we grew large enough to feed him everything he needs at the rate he's growing"

"Then what should we do!? Get him outside the walls!? With those - Those Monsters!?" Carla asked while angrily staring at her husband, she can't abandon her only son like this. There must be a way to fix things, to fix... This.

But then Grisha looked at her with eyes that told it all to her, he was planning on leaving their son behind to fend for himself at that dangerous place... He wants to leave Eren - their sweet little Eren, on the wilderness alone and surrounded by those beats that lurk outside their walls.

"No..." The mother weekly said while stumbling back and falling in a chair. "We can't, we're his parents"

Grisha slowly sighed and got up from his chair to approach his disturbed wife. He slowly touched her hand and got her to look at him.

"Carla I've..." The man sighed, "I have been training Eren in the forest, he knows how to fight and he'll be able to survive very well outside the walls. But you need to understand that we only have two options now... We either let him go... Or we get him stolen animals and even... Well, you know what I'm talking about" Carla lifted a hand to her mouth in sudden sickness as her face paled. Both of them had had this conversation over and over but it always ended with Carla saying that Eren was doing fine and there was no need to rush things.

"Carla, dear" Grisha lifted her hand and touched it on his cheeks while looking at her with pained eyes, "I know you might not believe it but doing this hurts me as much as it hurts you. I don't want to let Eren go and I would love to be able to keep taking care of him, but this would only make things more dangerous for all of us... And we still need to take care of Mikasa and Armin, we can't endanger them as well as the whole city and Eren in the process"

The father finally decided to hug his wife as small tears finally left his eyes, "We need to make a decision before it's too late for all of us"

After very slow seconds the mother finally decided to lift her arms and hug her husband for the first time in a long time. Knowing this was the best thing they could do to save all of them. Carla slowly and weekly nodded her head while crying and hiccuping in her husband's arms.

This has to be the worst decision she will have to ever make in her entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here it is!
> 
> I hope it was worth the wait and sorry for the long delay! But I'll try my best to have at least a chapter out every month unless I need to study for tests, then I can't promise anything...
> 
> And if you see the fic being updated but no new chapters I'm most likely fixing my grammar as I read my entire fic from time to time to be sure of what happened and what I'm doing next as some of the things I write weren't planned at all and aren't on my official fic document LMAO!


	8. Entscheidung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, let me process this for a while.
> 
> I started its fic last year in November. Ok, It's barely been three months since this fic was created. Alright, I'm still following it. Now, if I look at hits we have over... A thousand... Currently 1169 (NICE!)... When every other fic I've ever written got this number only after almost a whole year... Okay... And If I look at Kudos we're at... Wut? EIGHTY FRICKING THREE? I was on 64 12 days ago! Scratch that I was on 850 hits 12 days ago!!!
> 
> Guys, you're all INSANE and I LOVE you all I've never believed I would be able to write a fic that would attract such attention! But considering Hits and Kudos I really believe you all are liking it! So I will do my best to give you guys a really good fic!
> 
> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

**\--- Chapter Eight: Decision ---**

* * *

The sound of running water was really loud in the ears of everyone walking alongside the river as the rainy portion of Autumn reached the residents of the Tree Great Walls. The river that crosses the district started to flow strongly which resulted in a boom of merchandise going to the innermost walls as the citizens of Shinganshina saw an increasing spike in commerce, selling the extra grain from the farming season while still saving enough for the coming winter.

Two kids calmly walked alongside the river as they curiously glanced around from time to time towards all the commotion happening in one of the few sunny days of the rainy season. A small blond boy walked while mostly looking upwards towards the sky as the blue of his eyes reflected and merged with the blues and whites above. At his right, a girl that seemed to have eyes too small and a yellowish skin colour walked while following the boy's slow pace; looking forward with a face that would cause envy in every poker player.

Some of the workers nearby would spare glances towards the children to make sure they weren't there to do some shenanigans or to steal something before returning their attention to what needed to be done, none of the young teens and adults working there was aware of the inner turmoil both kids were currently facing.

"Armin..." Mikasa said as she glanced towards the nine-year-old at her side but, before she could keep on talking, the boy shook his head. "Not here" The kid pointedly looked at the adults around that were sparing glances at them from time to time.

After both kids left the commotion of the working area and found a portion of the river without many houses - nor people, they sat down in the humid grass. An uncomfortable silence making itself present as tension kept on rising.

"I know..." Armin said when Mikasa decided to open her mouth to speak, her eyes growing big at his confession before she slowly nodded. "You knew as well... We can't hide him forever... It would happen someday..." The blond boy said as the young girl kept nodding in agreement - hiding her face in the small scarf she had wrapped around her neck, seeking a form of comfort she felt like she would never have.

Armin groaned in displeasure as he reached for his head, messing with his yellow locks in a sudden fit of frustration such a young child shouldn't have. Mikasa looked at her friend sharing the feeling while strongly gripping the grass and dirt with her hands as if she could release her frustration upon the Earth in a deadly grip. "If only we could do... SOMETHING!" The boy said in anger before finally letting himself plop down in the wet grass; intently staring at the bright sky as if an answer would fall down from the heavens and present itself in front of him.

Both kids quietly stayed there, looking at the sky and clouds while sharing their frustrations and fears for their only friend. Occasionally, a small bird - or even a small flock, would fly over their heads; soaring through the skies with no fear nor chains attached to them as they headed towards the walls. They were...

_Free..._

After long minutes that felt more like hours to the young kids, Armin finally moved back to his sitting position, slightly regretting his decision to lay down as he could feel the cold water seeping through the fabric of his clothes, reaching for his back. Mikasa kept still as if she was an unmovable rock, looking straight into the river as if the cold waters could provide a solution to them, but it was no use.

Both kids knew Eren needed to leave, if he stayed someone would discover him... Mikasa already told Armin how Grisha heard tales from ' _drunken_ ' hunters who say they found gigantic footsteps or even fallen trees and branches in the forest. No matter how much they try, how much they move Eren around, how much their titanic friend is careful, it will never be enough. He will end up being found... And when it happens, well...

Neither of the kids want to think about the consequences...

The blond boy finally brought his attention back to his friend's adopted sister; noticing the stare as Mikasa slowly moved her eyes to glance at him in question, but before any could utter a single word two small feathers fell from the skies. A blue and a white one, crossing paths in front of the two small children as they slowly made their descent from the heavens.

Both kids looked at each other in astonishment as the seed of a very crazy and very dangerous idea planted itself on their heads.

**-_-_-_-_-_-**

Everything was quiet aside from the sound of flowing water from a nearby river that lazily followed its path. A deer moved his head upwards noticing the eeriness of his surroundings, some of the other deers that were feeding in the green pasture by his side moved their heads to look around as well; they all felt that something was amiss. When they arrived at this green pasture birds were singing and squirrels could be heard moving around in the canopy, but now?

Everything was quiet.

The deer frantically moved his ears around to listen for anything that could mean danger: a twig breaking, grass or leaves being stepped upon, a strong smell that could indicate a predator lurking around... But there was nothing other than the smell of rain, grass and mud.

Suddenly, every deer looked upward towards the canopy. Everyone on the heard listening to the frantic beating of a bird's wings as it flew away - scared of something. But before the creatures could grow even more panicked and leave the sounds of the forest came flooding back to their ears as the small and feathered creatures started to sing to one another.

Feeling like the danger was over the deer lowered his head to keep on munching in some of the bright green grass.

But this act of carelessness was what sealed his fate.

Before the poor creature could even notice what had happened a recognisable loud bang echoed through the clearing. The deer that was happily filling his empty stomach fell to the floor with a loud thud at the same time the metallic smell of blood started to fill every creature's nostrils in that small and normally peaceful place.

Without looking back to their dead comrade the rest of the small herd started running for their lives as their hearts started beating in fear and adrenaline. In less than a few seconds not even the flock of birds that were lazily resting in the canopy stayed behind as every creature ran for their lives.

Lifting from his hiding position a man approached the now dead deer, looking proudly at what he managed to catch for his hungry family as the creature looked to be very well fed; preparing for the harsh winter that was to come.

But then the man stopped in his tracks, feeling goosebumps reaching for his back and prickling upwards towards his neck as he felt like he was being watched. The adult gripped his old and reliable gun as he professionally reloaded it, keeping his ears open if something decided to attack him while glancing around every so often and remembering about the small knife he had on his right tight in case of an emergency.

As soon as his gun was loaded the man spun around and searched. He was not a stranger to death and the dangers of this forest as he was a seasoned hunter, he even had the scars to prove his mistakes from when he was young and careless around what could seem like pacific creatures. Not even a deer would go down easily given the chance to fight... So, he knew his body was warning him of something his mind had overlooked over the fact that he had a successful hunt.

Now, completely ignoring the carcass at his feet, the man walked with caution and complete concentration while he searched for what could be the reason for his fear. Only after long minutes of nothing but the sound of the river in the background the adult decided to turn around once again to get his prize away from there before the smell attracted unwanted visitors.

Getting a small rope he started to tie the deer feet together before getting up and bringing his hunt with him towards where he left his old horse, always leaving a hand in the ready for easy access to his gun. The man couldn't help himself when he gave a last glance back to make sure nothing was following him as his body kept on shaking with adrenaline and fear; knowing that something could jump him right then and there.

As the man retreated the small and open clearing kept its quiet eeriness.

But then, without any form of warning, a jet of very hot steam escaped from in between some leaves - reaching the point of burning them slightly, as the branches shook with the strength of the creature's breath. The trees and branches parted away as a crooked nose followed by a serrated mouth finally revealed themselves and nothing more than a seven-meter tall titan moved forward.

Eren's heart was beating non-stop as he moved to get away before that guy decided to come back for some stupid reason. That was a really close call; he was ready to pounce the same deer that man had shot... Still hearing his heart in his elongated ears and feeling the pressure of his blood on the extremities of his body Eren decided to walk away with extra carefulness while holding a hand to his gigantic frame, feeling his heart beating like crazy and his thorax moving fastly as he tried to control his frantic breathing and his excessive expelling of steam.

The boy-turned-titan held his breath from the moment he heard the gunshot and now he felt lightheaded because of it, but he wasn't taking any chances on staying behind even tought he felt like he could simply pass away from the adrenaline alone.

He knew it was a stupid idea to hunt by himself... He should have waited for Armin and Mikasa or even for his dad to come and help him but he was stupid and decided he could do it alone... What would have happened if he was faster than the guy? Or if the bullet had managed to pierce through his throat and into his nape!? The child-turned-titan lifted his other hand to carefully brush over his nape, feeling his muscles going rigid on instinct alone before he kept his careful walk.

Eren kept on slowly walking for long minutes before a small pain shot through his stomach region and sudden nausea started to make itself apparent once more. The child soon discovered that when his hunger was ignored for very long his body would react by creating empty Titan-pellets that were really painful as they would come out completely hardened and with very spiked ends that would rip his insides out...

Something that was the least pleasant in Eren's opinion...

But there wasn't much he could do to lessen his situation... His parents would bring a big share of meat whenever they could buy it and when that wasn't enough he learned to hunt with his dad alongside Mikasa and Armin.

But even so, bullets were really expensive and they couldn't really get too many of the deers Eren had killed to the butcher as their broken bones and skulls would raise a lot of questions... Heck, the amount of meat the Yeager family seemed to be consuming was already ringing some bells around according to what Mikasa said Grisha was talking with Carla in one of their nightly talks...

With lowered ears and hunched shoulders, the boy-turned-titan signed. He knew his time was running out and he would need to leave at some point even if his parents didn't agree with it... And that's what the child feared...

He feared leaving to live alone outside the walls that caged his existence from the moment he was born.

Eren let a huff leave his lipless mouth at his sarcastic predicament. There was a time he hated those walls... He hated seeing them towering over everyone in mocking silence as he knew they were locked in here like cattle, waiting to be overrun and eaten by the creatures from legends that lived outside - killing everyone brave enough to try and exert their freedom to see the world at large. A right every living creature should have the moment they were born, but they couldn't enjoy their rights because of those beasts.

But now? Now those walls are everything separating him from a world full of titans that could kill him and Scouts that would go on their expeditions just to see him like any other of those foul creatures - Just like another beast to be put down so the humans inside the walls can advance...

A world that would be merciless towards him...

He would not have Armin to read him books and tell tales of the outside world and how they would see those things together one day - filing his mind up with visions of impossibly large lakes, huge mountains that touched the skies, entire fields of ice and more.

He would not have Mikasa exerting her strange protectiveness towards him and trying to help him with every little thing - teaching him that the world is ruthless but that his family will be there when he needs them.

He also wouldn't have his mother to talk with him and calm him only in the way that mothers can - filling his heart with warmth and hope when he's experiencing his deepest and lowest points over the fact of what he is now.

And he wouldn't have his dad to show him how to fight - telling him what to do and how to do it as to not hurt anyone.

Huffing, but now in anger, Eren lifted his bright green pools of eyes as he stared at the sky, quietly defying the gods who had launched this curse over himself for no other reason than to see him suffer. NO! He'll not live hiding away in fear! If - WHEN he leaves from the safety of the walls he will kill them. He will kill every single Titan out there. And he WILL make a difference!

Walking with renewed vigour the boy-turned-titan kept slowly walking towards his clearing. His family is most likely on their way to visit him by now and he'll be there with a smile. This is not the end of Eren Yeager!

This is the beginning of a legend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I know you're all curious to know what'll happen next. How will Eren escape the walls, will he be found by the military before he can escape, will something bad happen, etc. And, while I would love to answer these questions, I need to go bye!
> 
> Jokes aside I'm still unsure of what to do and which ideas to use, but I want to follow something close to the original material so I can give that tip out. And I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well! 
> 
> College is just getting harder - It took me over two hours to answer a single question yesterday because I need to write an answer and then cite whatever fonts I used to write it, specifically which books I used (and this blows my mind!). And I'm seeing that if I want to have good grades, not high ones, but good ones, I'll need to double my efforts so it might take a while to write more chapters as I don't want my fic quality to drop to the dirt. So I hope yall can give me a little of your patience as there's a lot of people waiting for updates on various other places and I need to manage that.
> 
> Welp, if that I wish you all have a good day (or whatever time you're at right now - I see you one AM reader), and see you guys next time!


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